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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Los Angeles Dodgers had a clear weakness heading into the postseason.
Their bullpen, which they spent tons of money to reinforce this offseason, was among the worst in baseball this year.
In the regular season, the Dodgers had a league-high 657.2 innings pitched from relievers. They totaled a 4.27 ERA, which was 21st in MLB. The only playoff team with a worse bullpen ERA was the New York Yankees at 4.37.
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More news: Dave Roberts Sends Message on Dodgers Becoming a Dynasty
The Dodgers saw some of those early bullpen struggles in the Wild Card round, but have mostly been able to neutralize them through historic performances from their starting pitchers.
On Thursday, though, in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, right-hander Tyler Glasnow was "only" able to give LA 5.2 innings. That meant the Dodgers needed 10 outs from their shaky bullpen.
Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki combined to pitch 3.1 shutout innings, allowing just one hit as they protected a two-run lead. While that dominance may have come as a surprise to those who have been watching the Dodgers all year, All-Star third baseman Max Muncy expected nothing less.
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“We’ve been telling them all year that we believe in them,” Muncy said after the game. “Hopefully they’re getting a little confidence and they start believing in themselves. But we trust them. Every time we see them come running through the gate, everyone on the infield trusts that they’re coming in to do their job, and that’s never been an issue.
“They’re pitching how we’ve expected.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discussed the trust he has in his relievers as they continue to navigate through the postseason.
More news: Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Sends Strong Message Ahead of NLCS Game 4 vs Brewers
“We knew all along we were going to need these guys,” Roberts said. “And these guys are delivering, which is huge. We’re doing a great job of preventing runs. And the bullpen deserves a lot of credit.”
The Dodgers are one win away from the World Series and five wins away from becoming baseball's first back-to-back champion in 25 years. To get there, they'll need more performances from the bullpen like the one they got on Thursday.
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