Dodgers news: Bullpen game shutout, Freddie Freeman, pitching plans

The Dodgers haven't named their starting pitcher for Game 5 of the National League Division Series, but they didn't have a starting pitcher for Game 4 and yet that worked out well, keeping the team's season alive with a blowout win.

“Like rescuers linking their arms in a human chain to save someone in danger of drowning,” wrote Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, “the Dodgers ventured onto the thin ice of Game 4 with their arms linked to the bullpen and kept their season going.”

Pitching coach Mark Prior talked about the team's planning for Wednesday's bullpen game, where the team's seven active high-leverage relievers covered the first eight innings. From Andy McCullough of The Athletic:

At no point during the night did Prior exhale.

“Honestly, no,” Prior said. “You saw what they did the other night. They can make runs very quickly.”

A note from ESPN's Alden Gonzalez on Wednesday about the Dodgers and Tigers bucking a long postseason trend of blankings in bullpen games in October: “Before Wednesday, no team had ever committed a postseason shutout in a game in which the starter recorded four or fewer outs.”

I love a good newspaper layout with a catchy headline, and Thursday morning's Los Angeles Times fits the bill by writing “THE PEN IS MORE POWERFUL” at the top of the page.

It was decided at breakfast on Wednesday that Freddie Freeman would not play in Game 4, but instead would rest his sprained right ankle and the day off on Thursday in hopes of playing in Game 5. The fact that he was initially included in the lineup – being scratched beforehand – was “a bit of gamesmanship,” Freeman said after the game, according to Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.

Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest looked at the Dodgers' myriad pitching injuries and wondered if downgrading velocity could be a way forward:

You can see why throwing harder is more beneficial for teams. But unless you have a stable roster of more than 10 pitchers, it might be wise to change the philosophy. I mean, the Dodgers have 10+ capable starting pitchers and yet they have a bullpen game coming up with their season on the line.

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