Blake Treinen was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ most trustworthy reliever last season, coming through in the biggest moments en route to their World Series victory.
After re-upping with LA this offseason on a two-year, $22 million deal, Treinen has endured a trying age-37 season.
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Treinen missed over three months with a forearm injury. When he’s been healthy, he’s had one of the worst seasons of his 11-year career, sporting a 4.70 ERA across 27 appearances.
September has been especially unkind to Treinen, as he’s earned the loss in four of his last five appearances. He was the losing pitcher in both the no-hit bids of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani over the last two weeks.
Treinen was at a loss for words after his most recent performance on Tuesday night, in which he gave up the go-ahead, three-run home run in the ninth inning of LA’s 9-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Sometimes there’s no words, no reasons to describe it,” Treinen said. “I know it’s frustrating to the fans. I mean, I can promise you from the bottom of my heart we’re trying our darnedest every single night. There’s nothing we haven’t done, there’s no stone we haven’t unturned. It’s not an effort thing. It’s not a preparation thing.
“It is literally just sometimes things aren’t working and I wish for their sake, for our team, our organization, our ownership that I’m better in those spots. I know that’s in the heart of my teammates too. Sometimes you just don’t have answer. You just have to find something to cling to and keep plugging away every day. Re-set your body, re-set your body and try to do the job you’re called to do tomorrow. But obviously it’s been a frustrating stretch.”
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The Dodgers could have easily run away with the National League West amid similar struggles by the San Diego Padres. Instead, they’re continuing to battle in the hopes of eking out a division win.
The bullpen’s struggles have also removed any hope of the team securing a first-round bye, thus forcing them to play in a best-of-three Wild Card series to kick off postseason play.
Treinen and the rest of the bullpen could quickly wipe away the sour taste of a disappointing regular season with a dominant performance over the next six weeks. However, at this moment in time, it’s tough to have much confidence in the group righting the ship.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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