Dodgers News: Former MLB Manager Thinks Dave Roberts Should Have Pulled Lance Lynn Earlier

Should Roberts have pulled Lynn earlier in his outing?

The Dodgers season is over after being swept in the NLDS by the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0.

The first game was an absolute blowout loss 11-2 but the next two games finished 4-2, both of those games also had struggling Dodgers starting pitching, just not to the degree of Kershaw.

In Game 3, Lynn took the mound and after two scoreless frames, the hefty veteran allowed 4 solo shot home runs that would end up being the runs that would send the Diamondbacks into the NLCS.

Former MLB Manager, Joe Maddon, gave his opinion on the possible late pull for starter Lance Lynn in Game 3.

Bk and @MaddHalos discuss Dave Roberts and the usage of his bullpen in the Dodgers' final game. #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/ICLKXNCEsP

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) October 14, 2023

Maddon thinks that Lynn should have been pulled earlier especially given the circumstances of being down 2-0 and trying to avoid a sweep.

“Quite frankly, there’s no way you’re gonna permit four home runs to be hit like that,” Maddon said. “I would imagine, even from the side, him and his pitching coach were noticing that, like look at the ball is up right there, the slider is flat, didn’t have the same kind of finish. So that just creates the alert a little bit sooner. And furthermore, there’s no Game 4. You got to win this game. So, yeah, I think all the indicators were there that this was not going to work out well for Lance Lynn on that particular night.”

(via Joe Maddon, MLBNow)

Is he right? Who's to say?

What was known at the time was that the bullpen was already relied on heavily in the first two games due to both starters, Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller, only combining for 2 total innings pitched.

The bullpen had already tossed 16 innings of playoff baseball so most arms coming out of the pen would have some sort of fatigue going on.

The bigger picture is that a lineup that averaged over 6 runs a game during the regular season, scored 6 total runs in the 3 games.

Lance Lynn gave up the long ball for the Dodgers in the regular season but the offense was always behind him to keep them in games and win them. The offense was not there in the NLDS.

Lynn's future with the team is in the club's hands now as he has a club option for the 2024 season, would you want Lynn back with the Dodgers next year?