ST. LOUIS -- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen has been exactly as bad as the team worried it would be when the postseason began, or, for that matter, when the trade deadline came and went.
Dodgers relievers have allowed a home run in every game of this National League Division Series. The only surprising thing is that the St. Louis Cardinals finished last in the National League in home runs.
Kolten Wong provided the jolt in Game 3, homering in the seventh inning to beat the Dodgers 3-1 on Monday night and give the Cardinals a 2-1 edge in this five-game series. St. Louis can close it out Tuesday afternoon, while the Dodgers will be fighting to take the series back to L.A. behind ace Clayton Kershaw on short rest.
How it happened: Both starting pitchers were strong, but the Dodgers aren’t set up to win bullpen games. After Hyun-Jin Ryu’s pitch count crept up after six innings, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had to cover three innings with his relievers and, often, two innings are too much for these guys to handle. The first man out of the bullpen was lefty Scott Elbert, who had a 4.91 ERA at Triple-A Albuquerque and has had multiple elbow surgeries. It didn’t go well. Yadier Molina led off with a double and Wong connected for a two-run home run. Mattingly could have gone with the other Dodgers lefty reliever (two left-handed batters were due up in the inning), but J.P. Howell had allowed the game-tying home run in Game 2. It’s kind of a systemic problem. Brian Wilson nearly gave up a run but was relieved by Howell, who later made an amazing stop with his back to the plate on a sharp grounder up the middle to start an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.
The Dodgers got two runners on with one out in the ninth inning, but Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal got out of it.
Hits: Ryu didn’t factor in the decision, but he gave the Dodgers about all they could ask, making his first start in more than three weeks. He got through six innings despite a pitch limit in the low 90s (he made 94), allowing just one run on five hits. If this series goes five games and the Dodgers can win it, Ryu would be the presumptive Game 1 starter of the NLCS, and this was his second straight strong postseason start. All of it is an encouraging development for the Dodgers’ World Series hopes. But, of course, those are dangling by a thread, largely because of the bullpen.
Misses: Matt Carpenter is a good player, but he’s not as good as he has looked in this series. While his at-bats have been as tough as they usually are given his keen eye and ability to spoil good pitches, he also has been feasting on some fat pitches at times. Carpenter’s slugging percentage was down 100 points in 2014, but it has been off the charts in this series. He homered off Ryu leading off the third inning, giving him three straight games with a home run. The only other Cardinal to accomplish that in the postseason is Albert Pujols, who has more than 20 times as many career home runs as Carpenter.
Stat of the game: A.J. Ellis had a second-inning single, his sixth hit in the three games of this series. Ellis, who batted .191 in the regular season, had 12 hits in all of September.
Up next: The series continues with Game 4 here on Tuesday afternoon at 2:07 p.m. PT. Kershaw (0-1) starts for the Dodgers on three days’ rest, while Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he will go with Shelby Miller, who will make his first postseason start.