Dodgers lose bullpen game in World Series Game 4

NEW YORK — The Dodgers came into the postseason knowing the risks and rewards that come with relying on bullpen games.

Rather than force a fourth starter into the injury-plagued rotation, LA was willing to take the risk of leaning heavily on its bullpen. When bullpen games go according to plan, as demonstrated in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Padres and Game 6 of the NL Championship Series against the Mets, they can have devastating consequences for the opposing lineup.

The risk, however, is that if a pitcher fails to get through his lane, the entire plan falls apart.

That's exactly what happened to the Dodgers on Tuesday when their latest attempt at a bullpen game failed from start to finish in an 11-4 loss to the Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. Despite the loss and missed opportunity to win, LA holds a commanding 3-1 lead in the Fall Classic.

“I don’t think anyone expected these guys to back down,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We had some offense that I thought could have been better, but we knew it was a bullpen game. As far as results go, I feel good to have six guys in the pen who are feeling good and rested. And being 3-1 up.”

Starting Ben Casparius was the safest move of the night for Los Angeles. Despite his inexperience, the Dodgers were confident that Casparius could give them a few innings. In a bullpen game, someone has to go multiple innings, and the rookie right-hander did just that, allowing one run over two frames.

After Casparius, however, things went downhill for the Dodgers.

With a 2-1 lead thanks to another home run by Freddie Freeman, his fourth in as many games in this World Series, the Dodgers decided to move Daniel Hudson to the top of the Yankees lineup. Hudson has struggled at times this season, and although he started his night with a win over Juan Soto, it quickly became clear that the veteran wasn't at his best.

Hudson then hit Aaron Judge near his hands and allowed Jazz Chisholm Jr. a single off the wall. Then, after nearly hitting Giancarlo Stanton early in the count, Hudson walked to the Yankees' bat to load the bases. Despite these problems, the Dodgers decided not to bring another reliever to warm up and turned the inning over to Hudson, who retired Anthony Rizzo to escape the jam.

“I think that was his inning,” Roberts said. “I think he was at 20 pitches, something like that. He had [Anthony] Get on your way. I'm not going to get anyone in the third inning to put Volpe where he just popped a guy up. Atypical for the hit-by-pitch, the walk. So, yeah, it was his innings.”

The hanging first-pitch slider against Volpe, which led to a grand slam and a 5-2 Yankees lead, ultimately proved to be the winning run for the Yankees.

“It was a little self-made mess for me in the third round,” Hudson said. “I threw a couple good pitches to Juan early in the inning and it just got away from me. … Then obviously there was a really bad slider. [Volpe] I put some good momentum on it and managed to get out of here.”

Once the Dodgers fell behind, Roberts said he wouldn't rely on his debt-laden arms – even when they cut the deficit to one in the fifth. Instead, the Dodgers stuck with Landon Knack, who pitched well and allowed one run over four innings.

“The most important thing was to save the buddies out there,” Knack said of the self-proclaimed “Bullpen Dawgs.”

Brent Honeywell also saved the bullpen in the eighth, but not for the reasons the Dodgers were hoping for. At the start, LA was only two runs behind. Honeywell then allowed five runs, which put the game out of reach and also allowed the Yankees to avoid having to rely on closer Luke Weaver for a third inning.

“We're just trying to get through this whole series, keep guys fresh, keep guys healthy,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “It’s been like this for a while.”

It's been that way for the Dodgers all postseason, but perhaps for the last time. The strategy worked for LA, but it also came at a cost. This was another game in which the Dodgers were uncompetitive for most of the evening, in a game where they knew they would likely stay away from their debt-laden arms.

In the long term, the Dodgers hope these decisions pay off. They have Jack Flaherty starting in Game 5. They have all the highly effective support staff ready when needed. If Flaherty struggles early, they can afford to be more aggressive.

Worst-case scenario, the Dodgers take a rested bullpen back to Los Angeles when the series gets to Game 6. Combine that with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler poised to pitch most innings and the Dodgers remain confident in their plan.

However, this came at the expense of canceling Game 4.

“I feel great,” Roberts said when asked about further pitching. “It’s about the people you have available to you. Some of these guys are all rested. So we have people who can do that [an] up-down. Where we stand tomorrow and know that there is a day off [on Thursday]We are in a great position with leverage relief.”