Padres All-Star Says Dodgers Bullpen 'Executed Perfectly' in Game 4

The Dodgers' bullpen dominated in Game 4.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen made a statement in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. Needing a win to stay alive in the series while playing on the road at Petco Park, the Dodgers bullpen shut out the Padres lineup en route to an 8-0 victory.

After losing the previous two games of the series to the Padres, this was exactly the kind of performance the Dodgers needed — especially from their pitching unit. The Dodgers went into the postseason with pitching as a question mark, especially after Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, and Clayton Kershaw were all practically ruled out for the rest of the season. With these injuries, the Dodgers were limited to Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Jack Flaherty as starters.

None of their starters ended up pitching great games when they finally took the mound. Yamamoto, Buehler, and Flaherty each allowed at least four earned runs in their starts against the Padres.

The Dodgers bullpen did, though. On Wednesday, eight different relievers took the mound for the Dodgers, and none of them allowed a run. Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen, and Landon Knack combined to allow seven hits, two walks, and strike out eight over the course of the game, putting the Dodgers back in the win column while forcing Game 5 of the series.

“Good relievers and executing their pitches,” Padres' Xander Bogaerts said, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Some really tough at-bats tonight. We had to grind for our pitches. They came in with that reliever mindset. … They executed perfectly, all of them.”

“It’s a part of the game,” David Peralta said. “It’s postseason. They have a good bullpen.”

The bullpen's performance was even more impressive since it came against a Padres lineup that ranked first in MLB in hits and batting average this season. They held a Padres lineup that ranks first in home runs this postseason to not even a single run, the first time the Padres haven't scored in a game since July 19.

The Dodgers will now turn to Yamamoto on Friday, who will start Game 5 as Los Angeles tries to advance to the NLCS. Can the Dodgers hold down the Padres lineup again? Or will San Diego rebound?