Justin Wrobleski has become one of the Dodgers’ most important arms this season, and now Los Angeles is making sure that role doesn’t come with too much wear and tear.
With Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell sidelined at times and Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan showing some inconsistency, Wrobleski has stepped in as an unsung stabilizer for the rotation. His rise has already brought a first career All-Star Game selection, and he opened the second half with another solid outing. Even so, the Dodgers are watching his workload closely with October in mind.
“We’re going to keep an eye on him,” manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA before Tuesday’s game. “He’s obviously a huge piece of what we’re doing and what we’re going to be doing. I think with the six-man that we’re kind of beholden to this whole season, I think that’s helped.
“And just each outing, manage how he looks and how he’s feeling, a lot of conversations that we have. But yeah, we’re looking out to play through October so got to be mindful of the workload.”
Against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wrobleski got through 6.1 innings on 89 pitches before the Dodgers pulled him a bit early. That left him with 106.2 innings across 17 games, 16 of them starts.
Roberts said the left-hander did enough to keep the Dodgers in position to win, but the club wasn’t going to push him past the point of diminishing returns.
“I thought he pitched well enough to put us in a position to win the game,” Roberts explained. “I’ve got all the confidence in Justin, as everyone knows, as he knows.
But I wasn’t about to let him lose that game. I thought the stuff was starting to falter a little bit as far as the command, and if you can curb some stressful pitches here or there, I think it’s smart.
“It’s always good when it works out. Evan (Phillips) and Tanner (Scott) did a nice job tonight.”
Wrobleski is already well beyond the workload he carried last year, when he logged 123.1 innings between Triple-A Oklahoma, the Dodgers and the postseason. Even with Los Angeles planning to manage him carefully, he is on pace to top that total and establish a new career high.
The start also sent him back to Citizens Bank Park, the same place where he made his All-Star debut, and he said the setting made the night even more memorable.
“It was fun. I think anytime you get to pitch in these kind of ballparks, it’s fun,” Wrobleski said of quickly returning to Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s a good time. For me, going up against (Zack) Wheeler was pretty cool.
I think he’s a really good pitcher.
“It’s super fun to have those matchups, and then it was raining, so on top of that just try to battle the elements. It was fun.
Just a little adversity out there. I had a good time.
It was fun.”
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