The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in their series opener on Thursday, but the bullpen management led to some questions.
With a three-run lead in the eighth inning, Phil Bickford was called on to pitch against the heart of the Diamondbacks’ order.
Alex Vesia and Yency Almonte had already been used in the prior innings, but the decision to go with Bickford instead of Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol or Shelby Miller was one that did not make much sense on the surface.
Bickford ended up pitching a scoreless inning despite giving up a leadoff double. However, the likely option to pitch would have been Graterol had he not been dealing with back tightness, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA:
“It was big. This was three out of four for Phil. I got word in the middle of the game that Graterol’s back tightened up on him. That was a lane for him right there, to be quite honest. I wanted to stay away from Phil if possible, but he really stepped up. That’s as good of an outing as I’ve seen from Phil in quite some time. I think that’s going to give him some confidence. For me, Dustin and Phil were the two stars of the night. …. Brusdar, it should be no problem. He should be back tomorrow, ready to go.”
Phillips pitched the ninth inning to earn the save, which seemed to be the role Roberts saved him for.
Still, Roberts has yet to commit to a dedicated closer, so the argument stands that the best way to utilize their bullpen would have been to call on Phillips in the eighth inning and Caleb Ferguson for the ninth when the D-Backs had two left-handed hitters scheduled to bat.
Ultimately, the decision worked out and Bickford stepped up, which included the right-hander throwing a fastball at 96.8 mph, which was tied for his hardest thrown pitch at the Major League level.
It was an impressive showing for the 27-year-old, who needs to continue performing to avoid being designated for assignment when some of the Dodgers’ injured relievers start to get healthy.
Dave Roberts confident in Brusdar Graterol
Graterol has made just two appearances this season, with the first coming against the Diamondbacks last week. He entered in the ninth inning of a tied game and was hurt by soft contact and RBI bunt single.
Roberts voiced confidence in the right-hander after the loss, and Graterol bounced back with a scoreless appearance against the Colorado Rockies.
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