When minor-league reliever Matt Sauer showed up in the Dodgers clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, it was a sign that something was amiss.
In the middle of the first inning of the team’s 10-1 win against the Miami Marlins, the reason for his arrival finally became clear.
In yet another blow to their increasingly banged-up pitching staff, the Dodgers placed right-handed reliever Evan Phillips on the injured list with forearm discomfort, leaving an already overworked bullpen without one of its most trusted arms.
Phillips missed most of the first month of the season while recovering from a tear in his rotator cuff he suffered during last year’s postseason. He hadn’t given up a run in seven outings since coming back, but had been dealing with the discomfort in recent days.
The good news for the Dodgers: Neither he nor the team believe the injury to be serious. Phillips and Roberts described his IL stint as a “precautionary move.” They said they expected him to return once his minimum 15 days are up.
“I do feel like I can still contribute,” Phillips said, “but I think what it comes down to is we don’t want to mess around with something in early May.”
On Wednesday, Phillips’ absence didn’t harm the team either. In fact, in the team’s ninth win out of its last 11 games, it was Sauer who got some of the biggest outs in a rubber match at loanDepot Park.
With the Dodgers protecting a 1-0 lead in the sixth, right-hander Landon Knack got the hook after back-to-back leadoff singles, ending his spot start after five scoreless innings. Sauer was then summoned, making his first appearance since an important five-inning relief outing against the Marlins (14-22) in Los Angeles last week.
This time, Sauer played the role of high-leverage reliever, getting a double-play and strikeout to extinguish the threat.
“I just want to come in and throw as many strikes as I can,” he said. “Eat up innings and get the outs.”
The next time he took the mound, the Dodgers (25-12) had broken the game open, exploding for a six-run rally in the seventh.
Read more: Dodgers’ bullpen fatigue leads to extra-innings loss to Marlins
After a one-out pinch-hit walk from James Outman and a single from Kiké Hernández, Hyeseong Kim rolled an RBI single through the right side of the infield, part of a two-hit day that has him batting five-for-12 since being called up last week.
Shohei Ohtani, who helped the Dodgers get on the board in the sixth with a triple, came up next but was intentionally walked by Marlins manager — and former Dodgers first-base coach — Clayton McCullough with first base open, leaving the bases loaded for Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
They each promptly took advantage, with Betts drawing a run-scoring walk before Freeman cleared the bags with a three-run triple. Freeman finished his day three-for-four with four RBIs, extending a 12-game hitting streak and raising his early-season batting average to .362, trailing only Aaron Judge (.412) among MLB hitters with 90 at-bats.
“Obviously, I feel good,” Freeman said. “The swing’s going up through the middle. Kind of been looking for this swing for a long time, and finally found it.”
Outman later added a three-run insurance homer, his first long ball in the majors since July 28 of last year. Sauer remained in the game, too, pitching the rest of the way for a four-inning save.
“This was the perfect outcome for us,” Roberts said, relieved he was able to give the rest of his weary, shorthanded bullpen a much-needed break.
Teoscar Hernández’s timeline
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had a more encouraging update Wednesday on injured outfielder Teoscar Hernández, saying the veteran slugger could return from his groin strain in as little as two weeks if he progresses well.
“That’s my hope, and that’s his hope,” Roberts said. “But obviously we’re not going to activate him until he’s good and ready to get back and stay healthy.”
Though Roberts didn’t offer a timeline on Hernández’s injury — which he suffered running down a fly ball in right field Monday night — he had said on Tuesday that the MLB’s RBI leader would be “inactive for a while.”
By Wednesday, however, Roberts said Hernández told him he was already feeling better, raising hopes that his absence will ultimately be on the shorter side.
Clayton Kershaw’s return
The Dodgers have only four true starting pitchers in their rotation right now. But in a couple more weeks, that could finally change.
Clayton Kershaw is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on May 18. And Roberts said the future Hall of Fame left-hander is on track to be ready when that date arrives, showing more progress in his return from offseason toe and knee surgeries on Tuesday with six no-hit innings in a rehab start in the Arizona Complex League.
Read more: Dodgers place Teoscar Hernández on IL with groin injury, call up James Outman
Kershaw is expected to make one last rehab outing with triple-A Oklahoma on Sunday, Roberts said. After that, the 37-year-old left-hander should be ready to make his return to the majors.
In the meantime, the Dodgers will probably keep swingman Ben Casparius stretched out to pitch bulk innings every time the open spot in the rotation is up.
Roberts said the team’s other injured starters, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, are scheduled to begin throwing by the end of this week, an important step in their recoveries from similar shoulder inflammation injuries.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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