Justin Wrobleski has turned a first real shot in the Dodgers’ rotation into a season full of milestones, and Tuesday night added another one.
Even in a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners, Wrobleski kept his run of success against American League teams intact. He’s now undefeated in six starts against AL opponents this season, with wins over the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Athletics. His lone bullpen outing of the year also came against an AL club, the Cleveland Guardians, on March 30.
That workload has already put him in a place no Dodgers pitcher has reached before. Wrobleski became the first pitcher in franchise history to make at least five interleague starts in a single season.
The left-hander wasn’t at his sharpest against Seattle, though he still lasted six innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits and matched a career high with four home runs allowed. He left with the game tied at 5-5, but Alex Vesia gave up the go-ahead homer in the top of the eighth, and the Mariners held on for a 7-6 win in the series opener.
For the season, the Dodgers have won 12 of Wrobleski’s 17 starts. He sits ninth in the National League with a 2.88 ERA among pitchers with at least 17 starts, while also ranking third in the Majors with a 1.02 WHIP and ninth with a .222 opponents’ batting average.
The Dodgers are also preparing to protect him from piling up too much mileage before October. Manager Dave Roberts said earlier this month on SportsNet LA, “We’re going to keep an eye on him,” Roberts said on SportsNet LA earlier this month.
“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.”
Wrobleski threw 123.1 innings last season across Triple-A Oklahoma, the Dodgers and the postseason. He’s already at 112.2 innings this year after the start against Seattle, putting him on pace to top that career high even with the team planning to scale him back.
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