Los Angeles Dodgers retain some pitchers in Game 4 loss

NEW YORK — As Game 4 unfolded and the margin shrunk, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was faced with an interesting choice — the kind rarely faced in the high-stakes environment of a World Series. One was to use his best relievers in hopes that his offense could bounce back, giving the Dodgers the best possible opportunity to win a title. The other was essentially betting using lower-leverage relievers to save his best arms for another day.

Roberts clearly chose the latter approach in Tuesday’s 11-4 loss to the New York Yankees. The hope — with his team still 3-1 and one win away from a championship — is that it will pay off in the near future.

“It’s challenging,” Roberts said. “I think you have to make sure you can score some runs. Any guy we use tonight certainly wouldn’t have been able to pitch tomorrow.”

The Dodgers burned through six high-leverage relievers who combined to throw 100 pitches in Monday’s Game 3. That gave them a win that gave them a commanding lead in this best-of-seven series, but it severely compromised the bullpen play that would be staged 24 hours later.

The Dodgers used unheralded Ben Casparius and Landon Knack to pitch six of Game 4’s first seven innings, giving up just two runs. When the eighth inning arrived, LA trailed by two. But instead of picking from his group of high-leverage arms — ahead of Blake Treinen, who warmed up in Game 3 but didn’t pitch — Roberts gave the ball to Brent Honeywell, a long reliever who did a man’s job of saving bullpen in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, but is nonetheless low in the pecking order.

Honeywell went on to give up five runs, making Game 4 a rout.

Asked if it was tempting to chase a win in that situation, Roberts said: “No. Not 6-4 in the eighth, it wasn’t. No.”

The Dodgers’ bullpen limitations didn’t show until much earlier. Freddie Freeman had once again given LA an early lead with a two-run homer in the first inning to set a record by hitting a home run in six consecutive World Series games dating back to 2021 when he was with the Atlanta Braves. But the Yankees tacked on a run in the second and got four more in the third against Daniel Hudson, the only high-leverage reliever the Dodgers ended up using in Game 4.

Hudson, who also threw 22 pitches in Game 3, plunked Aaron Judge, gave up a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr., walked Giancarlo Stanton and, after getting Anthony Rizzo to pop up to second, was tagged out for a grand slam by Anthony Volpe, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead. The third inning, Roberts said, was Hudson’s to take down no matter how it went.

“It was his turn,” Roberts said. “I think he was on 20 pitches, something like that. He had Volpe up, so I’m not going to have anybody in the third inning get Volpe when he just popped a guy up.”

The Dodgers successfully used a bullpen game to keep their season alive in Game 4 of the NL Division Series and then again to win a pennant in Game 6 of the NLCS. But it also backfired in Game 2 of the NLCS and in Game 4 of this round. They are now done with that. If the World Series stretches far enough to return to Los Angeles, the Dodgers will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to take the ball in Game 6 and Walker Buehler in line to start a winner-take-all Game 7.

Before then, for Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, it’s Jack Flaherty against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. But Flaherty wants help. Treinen, who has been used in four or more outs four times this postseason, will be four days removed from his last appearance. Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Ryan Brasier and Michael Kopech will be available after a day off, with another to follow if needed.

The Dodgers pretty much lost one game hoping it will help them win another.

“We knew it was a bullpen game,” Roberts said. “As far as results — having six guys in your pen that are good, rested, I feel good about that. And to be up 3-1.”