Padres star wasn't a fan of the Dodgers' bullpen play

The postseason hasn't exactly gone well for the Dodgers since their 2020 World Series victory.

They have been eliminated from the NLDS two years in a row. Facing elimination again in Game 4 against the Padres on Wednesday, Los Angeles turned to its bullpen to keep the series alive — and it worked.

The bullpen was off and the offense stepped up with an 8-0 victory that sent the series to a decisive fifth game at Dodger Stadium.

San Diego's lineup struggled to adjust as it faced eight different Dodgers pitchers throughout the game. Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill admitted it was frustrating, saying, “I think that's one of the most annoying things…It kind of takes you back to spring training. “You're facing one guy, and then it's a new guy every time .”

Merrill went 0-for-4 with a strikeout while the Padres had just seven hits.

The Dodgers started Ryan Brasier, who got the first four outs. When San Diego's left-handed hitters emerged in the second, manager Dave Roberts brought in Anthony Banda, who quickly snuffed out a two-on-two threat by getting Jake Cronenworth to pop out.

Michael Kopech entered in the third round, making his first appearance since arriving in LA at the trade deadline. He kept things calm before passing the ball to Alex Vesia in the fourth period for further left tackles. From there, Roberts continued to roll out his bullpen, using Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen to secure the game.

“We've been saying it all year. “Our bullpen is special,” Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia said. “We have eight, nine, 10 people who can all be used in very high-leverage situations and I think that shows. “The script for us can be written in a lot of different ways and we use that to our advantage Advantage.”

In the ninth game, rookie Landon Knack made his postseason debut, sealing the combined shutout. With the Dodgers controlling the game, they were all but certain that the series would return to Dodger Stadium, where Game 5 would be all about winner.

Roberts didn't rule out a similar bullpen strategy for Friday, even with starters Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto available.

“I’m proud,” said Roberts. “When you get to the postseason, it’s a street fight. It's about people, players, and your desire must be more than your opponent's. And seeing our guys go through what they went through and how they respond to it makes me really excited for Game 5.”