Latest news with #MattSauer
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers make important pitching moves before Padres clash
The post Dodgers make important pitching moves before Padres clash appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Los Angeles Dodgers (40-27) own a top-three MLB payroll and boast one of the most lethal top-halves to a lineup in recent history, which are obviously contributing factors to their success, but where president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman really shows his skills is in the low-key transactions he makes. The top-notch executive frequently identifies struggling veterans or forgotten talents who can flourish in LA. Advertisement Friedman's instincts are especially critical now, as the team tries to survive a perennially pervasive injury bug and piece together a competent pitching staff. He just made a key decision that could impact the Dodgers' bullpen in the short term. Los Angeles is recalling Matt Sauer and designating fellow right-hander Jose Urena for assignment, per the team's X account. Dodgers always seem to make it work Considering the team has more than a dozen pitchers on the IL, two-time World Series-winning manager Dave Roberts is in need of relievers who can log valuable innings. Ideally, Sauer can fill such a role for now. He posted a 3.05 ERA, 13 strikeouts and a 0.919 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings of work in his first stint with the club earlier this season. The 2017 second-round draft pick (New York Yankees) tossed four-plus innings in three of his seven outings — one was a start — showing that he can pitch in bulk when necessary. That attribute is vital to a squad that is currently employing openers every so often. Advertisement Sauer is expected to hit the mound quickly following his big-league return. He will likely work behind opener Lou Trivino in Tuesday night's road game versus the San Diego Padres (37-28), per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. Unfortunately, Urena is possibly headed back to the open market. The veteran righty caught on with the Dodgers after both the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays DFA'd him earlier this year. He has been fairly solid in his last few appearances and gave LA three innings of one-run ball during his brief tenure with the organization. With luck, the 33-year-old can stick with a team for the remainder of the 2025 campaign. However, it is possible Jose Urena chooses not to elect free agency, knowing there is always a decent chance the Dodgers will need reinforcements at a moment's notice. Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts will continue to try different things in order to combat the ongoing injury woes, in the hopes that one of their call-ups breaks out and becomes an important member of the team. LA battles its detested foe in Petco Park, starting at 9:40 p.m. ET. Related: Dodgers' Freddie Freeman making adjustment to increase home run potential Related: Shohei Ohtani could join Dodgers' rotation before All-Star break
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers' Matt Sauer makes blunt admission after getting rocked for 9 runs by Padres
The post Dodgers' Matt Sauer makes blunt admission after getting rocked for 9 runs by Padres appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres are going at it in the marquee series of the week, as two of the best teams in baseball clash in a crucial division rivalry. The Dodgers got the better of the Padres in an epic extra-innings in the first game of the set on Monday night, but they didn't have the same success on Tuesday. Advertisement The Padres jumped all over Los Angeles to start the game, racing out to a 9-0 lead and forcing the Dodgers to turn to position players on the mound in the sixth inning. By the end of the carnage, San Diego had raced away with an 11-1 victory to even the series up at one game apiece. Dodgers pitcher Matt Sauer got crushed by the explosive and dangerous Padres lineup in this one. After Lou Trevino started as an opener with a scoreless first inning, Sauer got rocked for nine runs on 13 hits in just 4.2 innings as the Padres blew the game open. After the game, Sauer didn't hold back on where he struggled in the loss. 'I felt good, the feel was good, just left way too many pitches over the middle,' Sauer said. 'They were able to get the bat to the ball, get some hits. I've gotta show up tomorrow ready to work. Advertisement 'I've just gotta be better with locating the ball.' Things spiraled out of control quickly for Sauer in this game, and just like that the Dodgers were completely out of the running. The right-hander threw 111 pitches in this game, so it's likely that he won't be ready to go again until at least the weekend. The two division rivals will decide this series in San Diego on Wednesday night. Justin Wrobleski is slated to get the start for Dave Roberts and company while Randy Vasquez will be on the mound for the Friars. After Tuesday's rout, the Padres are just one game behind the Dodgers in the NL West, so they can potentially take a share of the division lead with a win on Wednesday night. Advertisement Related: Padres' Jackson Merrill issues dead serious take on Kike Hernandez's pitch Related: Kike Hernandez makes unique pitching history in blowout loss to Padres
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Why Matt Sauer endured late-inning damage as Los Angeles Dodgers pitching injuries pile up in 11-1 loss to New York Yankees
Matt Sauer battered while pitching against New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) Why Matt Sauer endured late-inning damage as Los Angeles Dodgers pitching injuries pile up in 11-1 loss to New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) Matt Sauer battered while pitching against New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) Why Matt Sauer endured late-inning damage as Los Angeles Dodgers pitching injuries pile up in 11-1 loss to New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) Matt Sauer battered while pitching against New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) 1 2 Matt Sauer was the sacrificial lamb in the growing pitching crisis of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he took a horror 11-1 drubbing at the hands of the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park. The 26-year-old minor league call-up was forced to throw 111 pitches over 4 2/3 innings, allowing 13 hits and nine earned runs as manager Dave Roberts essentially threw in the towel to save his beleaguered bullpen. Having a combined 14 pitchers with over 100 million dollars on the injured list, the defending World Series champions are in a roster management nightmare that has seen them have to sacrifice a winnable division rivalry game. Matt Sauer takes unprecedented workload in losing effort Matt Sauer battered while pitching against New York Yankees (Image Source: Getty Images) Matt Sauer's fourth major league call-up this season turned into a nightmare scenario as the right-hander faced 30 batters while the San Diego Padres' loaded lineup feasted on his offerings. The minor league veteran, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a non-roster contract last winter, understood his role as an innings-eater but struggled with command throughout his extended outing. Allowing Matt Sauer to take punishment instead of burning high-leverage relievers was a strategic choice that highlighted just how bleak the situation in the pitching department of the Los Angeles Dodgers is in June 2025. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Roberts admitted after the game that his team had essentially thrown in the towel on the game after they found themselves down 3-0 in the third inning, focusing instead on the remaining games in the three-game series rather than Tuesday night's drinking water loss. The situation became so desperate that utility player Enrique "Kiké" Hernández took the mound for the final 2⅓ innings, throwing 36 pitches with none exceeding 57 mph. Hernández allowed three hits and one earned run, providing comic relief in what had become a foregone conclusion. Los Angeles Dodgers rotation decimated by unprecedented injury crisis Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, who is 37 years old, and Dustin May are the only three dependable starters that the Los Angeles Dodgers have at the moment. The injured list is an All-Star list including Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Gavin Stone. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is still being careful in his comeback to the mound following his recent elbow operation. Dave Roberts justified his move of allowing Matt Sauer to take the damage and discussed the strategy behind the move in terms of the series. All you have to do is see what our bullpen situation is, and enjoy what we have the next couple of days, Roberts said. I thought it was simply not smart to chase and red-line guys. On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers had employed four high-leverage relievers in five innings of an 8-7 extra-inning win over the San Diego Padres, so the bullpen was taxed behind opener Lou Trivino, who pitched one scoreless inning Tuesday before things fell apart. The series finale between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres can be seen on Wednesday at 7:10 PM PT on Fox Sports West as Justin Wrobleski tries to help the injury-plagued champs salvage the series. Also Read: Yankees give big update on Giancarlo Stanton after injury kept him out all season The Los Angeles Dodgers' ability to navigate this unprecedented injury crisis will define their 2025 championship defense, as Matt Sauer's sacrifice highlighted the extreme measures necessary to keep their season alive amid a roster management nightmare that has no easy solutions.
Los Angeles Times
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: Dodgers are routed by Padres
From Jack Harris: Major League Baseball does not have a mercy rule for ending games early. On Tuesday night at Petco Park, the Dodgers could have used one. In recent years, the club has punted on plenty of games in the interest of protecting their often injury-riddled and shorthanded pitching staffs. But in an 11-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, they took the act of de facto forfeiture to levels even they hadn't previously pioneered. First, they let minor league call-up Matt Sauer wear it — in every sense of the phrase — over a nine-run, 13-hit, 111-pitch outing. Then, in the face of a nine-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth, they sent position player Kiké Hernández to the mound to pitch the rest of the game, the earliest a true position player had ever taken the mound in a contest in Dodgers franchise history. 'Very awkward,' manager Dave Roberts said. 'It doesn't feel good.' The Dodgers' decision to pack, even before the seventh-inning stretch, it in was rooted in logic. They are currently operating with only four healthy starting pitchers. Their equally banged-up bullpen is leading the majors in innings, and was coming off five frames of work in an extra-inning win the night before. And by the time Hernández took the mound in the sixth, the game had long been lost, the Padres (38-28) teeing off on Sauer with three runs two-out runs in the third inning, single scores in the fourth and fifth, and a four-spot in the sixth. Continue reading here Shaikin: Despite a quiet offseason, Padres are still making noise in competitive NL West Shohei Ohtani (and Glasnow and Snell) could be back on Dodgers' mound sooner than expected Dodgers box score MLB scores MLB standings All Times Pacific NBA FINALS Oklahoma City vs. Indiana Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story)at Oklahoma City 123, Indiana 107 (box score, story)Wednesday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCFriday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCMonday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABCThursday, June 19 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC* *if necessary Nolan Schanuel hit a single into shallow center field in the 10th inning for the first walk-off hit of his career to drive in Jo Adell and give the Angels a 2-1 win over the Athletics on Tuesday night. Reid Detmers (2-2) struck out two of three batters to strand the automatic runner in the top of the 10th. Hogan Harris (1-1) took the loss for the A's, who have lost 22 of 26 games. The Angels trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth when Travis d'Arnaud hit left-hander T.J. McFarland's first pitch for a pinch-hit homer and a 1-1 tie. Continue reading here Angels box score MLB scores MLB standings From Gary Klein: Davante Adams lined up on the right side, ran a short slant pattern to the middle of the field, and then caught a pass from Matthew Stafford and sprinted up the middle toward the end zone. A few players later, Adams crossed the field left to right and then extended his 6-foot-1 frame while leaping high to grab a pass over the middle for another significant gain. It's only organized team activities, conducted without pads, but Adams demonstrated on Tuesday that he has quickly immersed himself in the Rams' offense and culture since the three-time All-Pro receiver signed a free-agent contract in March. Continue reading here From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He wasn't under the watchful eye of Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert this offseason. He didn't train in the team's El Segundo practice facility. But it doesn't mean Rashawn Slater wasn't working this offseason. Making his first offseason appearance at the Chargers' facility this week as the team started mandatory minicamp, Slater immediately passed the team's conditioning test. In fact, Jim Harbaugh said, Slater reported the test was too easy. 'Too easy,' the coach said, 'because he trains.' Slater's return highlighted the Chargers' perfect attendance on the first day of three-day minicamp Tuesday. The star left tackle had missed all of voluntary organized team activities while in discussions for a contract extension. Continue reading here From Ben Bolch: David Greenwood adored basketball so much in middle school that he would play for three different teams in three different parks on the same day, multiple times a week. His brother, Al, would be in the car driving around with him between games while David traded in his sweaty uniform for a fresh one, repeating the process over and over. 'He was relentless,' Al said, 'because he loved the game.' At home, David would get tossed around in driveway games by the cement contractor father who was twice his size, only to keep getting back up for more contact. In practices, he shot blindfolded to perfect his form, his brother having to let him know when he was close to going out of bounds so that he could get his bearings. Greenwood, the determined Compton kid who went from a star high school player at Verbum Dei to one of the top scorers in UCLA history to an NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, died Sunday night at a Riverside hospital Continue reading here From Kevin Baxter: When the CONCACAF Gold Cup was launched, it was intended to be the confederation's version of UEFA's European Championships or CONMEBOL's Copa América. And for more than a generation it sufficed. But as Mexico and the U.S. got better, playing group-play matches against the likes of Saint Kitts and Nevis or Martinique every other year ceased to be a challenge. So twice in the past decade the confederation brought South America's championship tournament to North America just to make things interesting. However, this summer the Gold Cup, which kicks off Saturday with Mexico, the reigning champion, facing the Dominican Republic at SoFi Stadium, has gotten its groove back. (The U.S. opens play Sunday in San José against Trinidad and Tobago.) Continue reading here All times Pacific STANLEY CUP FINAL Edmonton vs. Floridaat Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story)Florida 5, at Edmonton 4 (2 OT) (summary, story)at Florida 6, Edmonton 1 (summary, story)Thursday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTSaturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTTuesday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT*Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT* * If necessary 1898 — Willie Simms becomes the only Black jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rides Sly Fox to victory and the only one to have won all three Triple Crown races. Simms' other Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (1896, 1898), Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894). 1919 — Walter Hagen wins the U.S. Open with a one-stroke playoff victory over Michael Brady. 1919 — Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, captures the Belmont Stakes to become thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown winner. 1921 — Grey Lag, ridden by Earl Sande, wins the first Belmont Stakes run counterclockwise. Previous Belmonts were run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval. 1938 — Ralph Guldahl wins golf's U.S. Open for the second straight year by beating Dick Metz. 1949 — Cary Middlecoff wins the U.S. Open by beating Sam Snead and Clayton Heafner. 1955 — Nashua wins the Belmont Stakes with Eddie Arcaro in the saddle. It's the sixth Belmont victory for Arcaro, tying Jimmy McLaughlin's record. 1977 — Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, runs wire to wire in the Belmont for a four-length victory over Run Dusty Run and the Triple Crown. 1978 — Nancy Lopez shoots a record 13-under par to win the LPGA Championship by six strokes over Amy Alcott. 1982 — Larry Holmes stops Gerry Cooney in the 13th round for the WBC heavyweight title at Las Vegas. 1984 — The Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 111-102 in Game 7 to win their 15th NBA title. 1992 — Tracy Austin, 29, is youngest inductee of International Tennis Hall of Fame. 1994 — For the first time in 11 years, the United States loses in the women's world basketball championships. Guards Hortencia and Paula combine for 61 points, and Brazil stuns the defending champions 110-107 in the semifinals. 2006 — Se Ri Pak beats Karrie Webb on the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Championship. Pak atones for a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole in regulation that set up the playoff. 2006 — Rafael Nadal wins his second consecutive French Open, beating Roger Federer in four sets. Nadal spoils Federer's bid for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam championship and extends his record clay-court winning streak to 60 matches. 2011 — Texas A&M sweeps the men's and women's titles at the NCAA outdoor championships, becoming the first school to post dual three-peat champions. Villanova's Sheila Reid becomes the first woman to win the 1,500 and 5,000 meters at the same NCAA meet. 2012 — Rafael Nadal wins his record seventh French Open title, returning to Roland Garros to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It's Nadal's 11th Grand Slam title, tying him on the all-time list with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who won six French Open titles. 2012 — The Kings win their first NHL title, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. 2017 — Rafael Nadal wins his record 10th French Open title by dominating 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. No other man or woman has won 10 championships at the same major in the Open era, which began in 1968. 2017 — Stanley Cup Final, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Nashville Predators, 2-0 for 4-2 series win; Penguins back-to-back champions. 2022 — Charl Schwartzel hangs on to beat fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis by a stroke to win the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational event. 2023 — French Open Men's Tennis: Novak Djokovic beats Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 for his men's record 23rd Grand Slam singles title. 1904 — Bob Wicker of the Chicago Cubs pitched 9 1-3 hitless innings before Sam Mertes of the New York Giants singled. Wicker won a 1-0, 12-inning one-hitter. 1938 — Johnny Vander Meer hurled the first of two consecutive no-hitters, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves 3-0. 1967 — The Chicago Cubs hit seven homers and the New York Mets four in the second game of a doubleheader, tying the major league record set by the New York Yankees (6) and Detroit Tigers (5) in 1950. Adolfo Phillips hit four home runs in the doubleheader for Chicago. 1981 — After Seattle's 8-2 win over Baltimore, major league players went on strike. 1985 — Von Hayes became the first player in major league history to hit two home runs in the first inning. Hayes connected twice in a nine-run first, powering the Philadelphia Phillies to a 26-7 victory over the New York Mets. 1988 — Rick Rhoden of the New York Yankees became the first pitcher since the inception of the designated hitter (1973) to start a game as the DH. He was seventh in the lineup and grounded to third out in the third inning and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Jose Cruz pinch-hit for him in the fifth of the 8-6 win over Baltimore. 1990 — Nolan Ryan pitched the sixth no-hitter of his career to extend his major league record, and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0. Ryan, 43, was the first to pitch no-hitters for three teams and the oldest to throw one. 1995 — Lee Smith set a major league record with a save in his 16th consecutive appearance, pitching a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the Angels' 5-4 victory over Baltimore. Smith broke the mark of 15 straight set by Doug Jones in 1988. 2002 — Jared Sandberg became the 16th AL player to homer twice in an inning, and the third this season, when Tampa Bay beat the Angels 11-2. 2003 — Houston's Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combined for the first no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 45 years, winning 8-0. The sextet set a record for the highest number of pitchers to throw a no-hitter in major league history — four accomplished the feat twice. 2010 — Andy Pettitte records his 200th win in pinstripes in the Yankees' 4-3 win over Houston at Yankee Stadium. Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) are the only other members of this exclusive New York club. 2012 — The Cubs sign Cuban defector Jorge Soler to a nine-year contract worth $30 million. The 20-year-old outfielder was the subject of a bidding war among several teams. 2013 — The Dodgers and Diamondbacks engage in a beanball war. The hostilities start when D-Backs pitcher Ian Kennedy hits super rookie Yasiel Puig in the head with a fastball in the 6th inning. The ball hits his nose, and he stays on the ground for a few minutes but stays in the game; Andre Ethier follows with a tying two-run homer. In the top of the 7th, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke hits the first batter, Miguel Montero, in the back, prompting both benches to empty, although only stares are exchanged. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Kennedy throws a pitch near Greinke's head, and pandemonium breaks out, with both benches and bullpens emptying again, and players and even coaches going at each other. When order is restored, Puig and coach Mark McGwire are ejected for the Dodgers, and manager Kirk Gibson and coach Turner Ward for the D-Backs. Incidentally, the Dodgers wins the game, 5 - 3. Major League Baseball will hand out eight suspensions and twelve fines as a result of the events, with Kennedy getting a ten-game suspension and Eric Hinske of the D-Backs getting five; both managers are suspended for one game, and two for the two coaches. 2017 — Max Scherzer of the Nationals records the 2,000th strikeout of his career, beating out Clayton Kershaw, who reached the milestone less than a week ago, as the third fastest pitcher to the mark. 2017 — Rookie sensation Aaron Judge hit two more home runs, including a drive that cleared the distant bleachers at Yankee Stadium and sent New York romping past Baltimore 14-3. The 6-foot-7 Judge led the majors with 21 homers and topped the AL with 47 RBIs and a .344 average. 2022 — Jared Walsh hits for the cycle and Mike Trout blasts a pair of homers as the Angels defeat the first-place Mets, 11-6. Walsh is the 9th player in team history to achieve the feat, almost exactly three years after teammate Shohei Ohtani was the last to do so, while Trout appears to be out of the deep slump that contributed to recent 14-game losing streak, costing manager Joe Maddon his job. Compiled by the Associated Press That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Washington Post
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Dodgers' pitching injury woes culminate in a punt. Matt Sauer takes one for the team in 11-1 blowout
SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers have 14 pitchers making more than $100 million combined this season on their injured list, They've been signing, promoting, playing and releasing pitchers almost daily as they engage in a perpetual scramble to assemble enough healthy arms to compete. When the Dodgers fell behind in the third inning Tuesday night while desperately short of options on the mound, the defending World Series champions essentially decided to punt a game away to the San Diego Padres. Matt Sauer, a 26-year-old minor leaguer getting his fourth callup already this season, threw 111 pitches while giving up 13 hits, three walks and nine runs and facing 30 batters in the Padres' 11-1 victory . The Dodgers allowed Sauer to pitch 4 2/3 innings with nothing close to his best stuff, and the Padres' loaded lineup feasted on him while turning a much-anticipated rivalry game into a laugher. Utilityman Kiké Hernández then took the mound during the sixth and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while throwing 36 pitches — none faster than 57 mph. Manager Dave Roberts grimly acknowledged that the Dodgers essentially had to give up on trying to win this game after falling behind 3-0 in the third inning. 'You've just got to look at where our 'pen is at, and appreciate what we have the next couple of days,' Roberts said. 'I felt it just wasn't smart to chase and red-line guys. I've got to give credit to Matt. That was as much as he's ever pitched, and (he) essentially took it for the team to try and stay away from other guys and give us a chance to win a series. That's what we came in here to do, and we're in position to do that.' Indeed, the Dodgers used four high-leverage relievers for five total innings while hanging on for their 8-7 victory over the Padres in 10 innings on Monday night. That left the bullpen weary behind Lou Trivino, who went out as the opener Tuesday and threw one hitless inning. The Dodgers' rotation is profoundly patchwork. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin and Gavin Stone headlining the list of potential starters sidelined by injury — and with Shohei Ohtani still proceeding quite deliberately in his mound comeback — Los Angeles can currently send out Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May. The other two spots in the rotation are being filled by temporary callups and/or bullpen games. The Dodgers didn't even want to try a bullpen game Tuesday after falling behind early, since Roberts thought it would be more prudent to have his bullpen largely available Wednesday when Justin Wrobleski — another rotation filler by the desperate Dodgers — takes the mound. 'It's where our staff is at right now as far as who's available, who's not,' Roberts said. 'Who we can kind of push, who we can't. And these are the starters we have, so we've got to go with it and make the best.' Sauer accepted his bizarre fate, realizing the Dodgers needed his arm to fill innings while they regrouped. 'I've just got to be better with locating the ball,' said Sauer, who signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers last winter. 'I wouldn't necessarily say (it's) a pride thing. I know my role is to eat up innings, and I feel like I've got the frame and the repertoire to do that, and I'm going to go out there and compete every time.' Everyone recognizes that the deep-pocketed Dodgers' success over the past several years has happened despite a jaw-dropping slew of major pitching injuries. Last season was similar to this campaign, with practically every pitcher on the roster missing large chunks of the season and postseason. Los Angeles won the World Series last season with an October starting rotation of late-season acquisition Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto (who missed three months of the regular season) and Walker Buehler (who also missed three months) supported by multiple bullpen games. Flaherty and Buehler then left in free agency. Roberts disagreed with the notion that the Dodgers' unlikely success with bullpen games last season — particularly in the NLDS against the Padres — could have given them false confidence in their ability to solve these major pitching woes with that strategy. 'Today wasn't really a bullpen day,' Roberts said. 'If you look at last year, certain games, you have nine guys that you have available, and we certainly didn't have that today. Somebody was going to have to take three to five innings. We weren't in that situation last year, so I don't think that's a fair comparison. When you get behind, you've got to kind of just ride it out.' ___ AP MLB:
