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The Dodgers were in danger of losing their one-run lead in the eighth inning of Tuesday's eventual 4-3 walk-off victory in extras. The D-backs had loaded the bases with two outs against lefty Alex Vesia, who wasn't going to get the chance to face right-handed-hitting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Manager Dave Roberts summoned rookie right-hander Ben Casparius. Gurriel worked a full count, but swung through a slider that dove under the zone to end the inning. On the mound, Casparius was clearly fired up; watching from the top rail of the dugout, Vesia reacted just as emphatically. "It was big. I just felt that it was the right spot for him," Roberts said. "We’re obviously putting him in a lot of high-leverage spots. And he’s answered every opportunity the right way." |
With Kirby Yates on the 15-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, the Dodgers have had to rethink how they'll handle certain high-leverage situations. Casparius has emerged as the Dodgers' foremost right-handed option, and recently signed veteran righty Lou Trivino also got a look in a leverage spot on Wednesday. In a season where pitcher injuries have already begun to pile up for the Dodgers, Casparius has been a constant in the bullpen, posting a 3.23 ERA across 30 2/3 innings. Very little about this year has been constant for Casparius, though. “The role for him is sort of ever-evolving," Roberts said. "But given where we're at in the ‘pen and losing guys, his role needed to change, and he's now just a high-leverage guy. I said hybrid a week ago, something like that. He could still do multiples, but I didn't hesitate going to him in that spot [on Tuesday].” |
After being developed as a starter, Casparius spent most of Spring Training preparing to convert to relief. The 26-year-old made his first Opening Day roster and thrived in a multi-inning role.
Then, injuries to the Dodgers' rotation struck. After Tyler Glasnow became the second member of the team's season-opening rotation to go on the IL, Roberts acknowledged that stretching Casparius out to a starting role was a possibility. But since his longest outing of the season -- four innings on May 5 in Miami -- Casparius has mostly been pitching in shorter stints. At that point, Roberts was calling him a hybrid reliever, covering between one to three innings. Then came the injury to Yates, and when Casparius entered the game to get one high-stakes out on Tuesday, it signaled another shift. His manager may have given him a new label, but Casparius still sees his role as being fluid. "Obviously, my role has been different in flexible situations, so I try not to read into those things," Casparius said. "But I think just to be in their trust tree and be able to be used in different areas of the game, whether it's early on, late, whatever it is, it's cool." |
The Dodgers' bullpen leads the Majors with 213 2/3 innings, while the rotation ranks last with 230 1/3 innings. It's not a sustainable arrangement, but the team has been able to get by -- in no small part because Casparius has been able to come in behind a short start and pitch bulk innings. If the Dodgers want to reserve Casparius for leverage situations, they'll have options who can step into that hybrid role. Matt Sauer has been solid, covering at least four innings in three of his six appearances. Jack Dreyer has also been called on to get more than three outs quite a bit this season. Rather than think about his role, Casparius is just focused on being ready when his name is called. If he seems rather poised for a rookie, it's because he already underwent trial by fire last postseason, when he made four appearances between the NL Championship Series and the World Series. |
This may be his first extended regular-season stretch with the Dodgers, but Casparius came into it with a little seasoning. "Going through the playoffs last year, which was my first stretch in the big leagues, seeing how guys are treating their bodies 175 games through the year, this and that," Casparius said. "It [gave] me a good idea of how to go about my day to day, and do everything I can to stay healthy and be able to feel good." |
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On Monday, Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips and his wife, Liz, visited the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where they met with the parents of NICU patients and donated books and baseball cards. The visit held a deep meaning for the Phillips family, as their son, Beau, was a NICU patient there for 15 days after he was born two years ago. "To the incredible doctors, nurses and staff at [Cedars-Sinai], we are endlessly grateful. Thank you for taking such incredible care of our boy and family these last couple of weeks," Phillips wrote in an Instagram post in 2023. |
It hasn't been a walk in the park for the Dodgers up to this point, but they have a challenging stretch ahead. Beginning with the three-game set this weekend in New York -- an NLCS rematch -- the Dodgers have eight straight series against teams that currently have records above .500: the Mets (May 23-25, June 2-5), Guardians (May 26-28), Yankees (May 30-June 1), Cardinals (June 6-8), Padres (June 9-11, June 16-19) and Giants (June 13-15). "We're going to have a good test coming up on the road," Roberts said. "The Mets are playing as good of baseball from the beginning of the season to now as anyone, and they're going to want to get a little revenge." This stretch will give the Dodgers a good look at how they match up against a slate of teams that could be contenders down the road. It should make for a fun couple of weeks. |
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