Dave Roberts Has Cryptic Response Regarding Availability of Key Dodgers Reliever
The Los Angeles Dodgers turned to their bullpen for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday against the New York Mets hoping for a similar outcome as Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres.
It didn’t work out.
Reliever Daniel Hudson, who was used during Game 1’s 9-0 blowout win, was unavailable for Tuesday’s contest. Manager Dave Roberts was a little cryptic when he was asked why Hudson didn’t make an appearance. Here was the full interaction:
Q. Was Hudson down just because of rest?
DAVE ROBERTS: He just had some things that he couldn’t pitch today.
Q. Anything concerning moving forward?
DAVE ROBERTS: I don’t think so. He should be, with two days, he should be ready to go for Game 3.
Hudson experienced some fatigue toward the end of the regular season but was otherwise healthy throughout the year. Unfortunately, he suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee last year, which sidelined him from participating in the 2023 postseason.
In contrast to their reliance on the bullpen to avoid elimination against the Padres in Game 4 of the NLDS, the Dodgers took a different approach with the Mets by assigning Landon Knack to a bulk role.
However, Knack was unable to deliver, and Roberts chose not to deploy many of the Dodgers’ key high-leverage pitchers. Hudson was unavailable, and the absence of Alex Vesia from the playoff roster due to an intercostal injury also affected the team’s strategy.
“Knack was going to have to pitch at some point in time,” Roberts said. “So whether you get through, you have four high-leverage guys available, right? You have to be able to still finish four innings of a game or three innings of a game. So you’ve got to be able to get into the game at some point, too.”
Roberts leaned on Brett Honeywell who provided the Dodgers with three scoreless innings.
“I knew what my job was there, to keep us in the game,” Honeywell said. “I know for a fact that we can swing our way back into any game, no matter who’s on the hill. [Mets starter Sean] Manaea threw the ball well against us, and I thought once we got him out, we could rally a little bit. I just wanted to keep the dogs at bay and give us a chance to win the game.”
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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