LOS ANGELES — Back in March, when their starting rotation was intact and the projections were rosy, Los Angeles Dodgers officials envisioned Bobby Miller’s impending arrival as icing on another division-title cake. The prized prospect was supposed to appear in the majors sometime during the summer — after recovering from a shoulder injury — as a midseason showcase for a club coasting into October.
They would practice patience and deploy him with care. Maybe he would pitch so well that he would start games in the postseason. Maybe he’d become a weapon out of the playoff bullpen. Maybe the Dodgers wouldn’t need him at all.
The plan certainly wasn’t what has unfolded in recent weeks. Three months into the season, Miller isn’t a shiny depth piece for the Dodgers. He’s an essential, high-octane arm they’re relying on earlier than anyone expected to stay afloat in the National League playoff race.
And on Wednesday the Dodgers, after two days of dismal news for their starting rotation, gave him the ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates looking to rebound from a disappointing loss the previous night. Miller responded with a gutty effort, pitching around two costly mistakes to give the Dodgers 5 2/3 innings in a 6-4 win at Dodger Stadium.
The victory didn’t come without another late-inning scare.
The Dodgers turned to Daniel Hudson for the ninth inning in his third appearance of the season because Evan Phillips pitched the previous three days. The veteran right-hander promptly loaded the bases with no outs before retiring the next three hitters to avoid a bullpen implosion for the second straight night.
The Pirates scored their four runs on two home runs off Miller. Bryan Reynolds, the second batter he faced, mashed the first to give Pittsburgh a quick lead. Three innings later, Jack Suwinski blasted a three-run shot to put the Pirates ahead 4-0. The ball landed a few rows into the right-field pavilion and was thrown back onto the outfield grass before Suwinski rounded the bases. The high-pitched shrieks for Peso Pluma pregame were replaced by deep-throated boos.
The mood quickly shifted when the Dodgers (48-38) answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. They added four in the fifth, an outburst fueled by J.D. Martinez’s go-ahead three-run home run.
Moments later, the delicate state of the Dodgers’ pitching staff became evident. Miller, a prized young talent the club cannot afford to overuse, was approaching 90 pitches. A call to the bullpen would have made sense. But manager Dave Roberts kept Miller in the game to start the inning.
Miller needed eight pitches to strike out Henry Davis. He used two to retire Carlos Santana. He was an out away from giving the Dodgers six innings.
Then he walked Suwinski, coaxing Roberts from the dugout to pull him after 101 pitches.
How did the Dodgers get here? Where to start? How about last June? That was when Walker Buehler landed on the injured list because of an elbow injury. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery in August. The Dodgers are hopeful he can return in some capacity before the end of this season.
The Dodgers then lost Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney in free agency. In response, they signed a wounded Noah Syndergaard to a one-year contract. He posted a 7.16 ERA in 12 outings before going on the injured list because of a blister and shot confidence.
Roberts said Syndergaard was scheduled to throw three innings of live batting practice Thursday at Dodger Stadium before going on a rehabilitation assignment. Whether he rejoins the Dodgers’ rotation remains unclear.
“The ball’s in his court, to be quite honest — to go out there and perform,” Roberts said. “And the sample that we’ve seen up to this point ... it hasn’t been where we need it to be. So, Noah understands that.”
Julio Urías, a free agent this winter, recently sat out more than a month because of a hamstring injury and has a 4.94 ERA in 11 starts. Tony Gonsolin sat out the season’s first three weeks and hasn’t rediscovered his All-Star mojo from 2022.
Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ best pitcher this season at 35, was put on the injured list Monday because of shoulder inflammation a day after being named to the NL All-Star team. And on Tuesday came the latest blow: The Dodgers announced Dustin May, out since the middle of May, is scheduled to undergo season-ending elbow surgery later this month.
“Having a guy like Dustin, who we consider a top-end starter, a guy that can start a playoff game,” Roberts said. “So to be able to not count on that, certainly cuts into the depth.”
May’s misfortune leaves Urías and Gonsolin in the rotation with three rookies — Michael Grove, Emmet Sheehan, and Miller — until after the All-Star break. The Dodgers will undoubtedly attempt to bolster the group with an acquisition before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. That doesn’t mean they will.
For now, they must win with what they have. On Wednesday, they had Miller, a first-round pick in 2020 with electric stuff and seven career major league starts. His eighth was just good enough.
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