The Los Angeles Dodgers retain some pitchers in Game 4 loss

NEW YORK – As the game developed and the lead dwindled, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts faced an interesting decision – the kind rarely faced in the high-stakes environment of a World Series. One was to use his best substitutes in the hopes that his offense would go all the way back and give himself the best possible chance of winning a title. The other was essentially stabbing, using lower leverage tools to save his best arms for another day.

Roberts clearly chose the latter approach in Wednesday's 11-4 Game 4 loss to the New York Yankees. The hope – with his team still up 3-1 in this best-of-seven series and just one win away from a championship – is that this will pay off in the near future.

“It’s a challenge,” Roberts said. “I think you have to be sure you can score some runs. Certainly any guy we put in tonight wouldn’t have been able to pitch tomorrow.”

The Dodgers used six high-impact relievers in Game 3 the night before, combining for 100 pitches. It secured the victory that gave them a commanding lead in this best-of-seven series, but it significantly affected the bullpen game that was scheduled to take place 24 hours later.

The Dodgers used the unheralded Ben Casparius and Landon Knack to start six of the first seven innings, in which they allowed just two runs. When the eighth inning came, they were only two runs behind. But instead of parting ways with his group of highly effective arms — a group led by Blake Treinen, who warmed up but didn't pitch in Game 3 — Roberts handed the ball to Brent Honeywell Jr., a long reliever who did the passed pawn work done by saving the bullpen in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, but is still far down the pecking order.

Honeywell gave up five runs and turned Game 4 into a rout.

Asked if it was tempting to go for a win in this situation, Roberts replied: “No. Not 6-4 in the eighth round, that wasn't it. No.”

The Dodgers' bullpen limitations showed up much earlier for the first time. Freddie Freeman took the early lead again with a two-run home run in the first inning and set a record by hitting a home run in six consecutive World Series games since 2021. But the Yankees tacked on a run in the second and struck out four more in the third against Daniel Hudson, the only high-leverage reliever the Dodgers used in Game 4.

Hudson, who also threw 22 pitches in Game 3, struck out Aaron Judge, allowed a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr., walked Giancarlo Stanton and, after getting Anthony Rizzo to come up for the second pitch, served up a grand slam to Anthony Volpe. giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead. That third inning, Roberts said, was Hudson's job, no matter how it went.

“That was his inning,” Roberts said. “I think he had 20 pitches, something like that. He had Volpe on, so I'm not going to make anyone come out for Volpe in the third inning 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 secure a pennant in Game 6 of the NLCS. But things also backfired in Game 2 of the NLCS and Game 4 of this round. They are now finished. If the World Series extends far enough to return to Los Angeles, the Dodgers will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the ball in Game 6 and Walker Buehler starting a winner-take-all game in Game 7.

Before that, Jack Flaherty will face Yankees star Gerrit Cole in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. But Flaherty will have help. Treinen, who has been used four times this postseason for four or more outs, will be four days removed from his final appearance. Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Ryan Brasier and Michael Kopech will have one day off, with another to follow.

The Dodgers essentially lost a game in hopes that it would allow them to win another.

“We knew it was a bullpen game,” Roberts said. “As far as the results are concerned, having six guys in the team who are feeling good and rested is a good feeling for me. And the 3-1 lead.”