Justin Wrobleski’s All-Star nod came with the kind of shine any young pitcher would want. But the Dodgers left-hander is in a rough patch now, and the damage has piled up fast.
Over his last two outings, Wrobleski has been tagged for 12 runs in 10.1 innings, including a season-high-tying seven in a loss to the Chicago Cubs after giving up five to the Seattle Mariners. The biggest problem has been the long ball: eight home runs in that stretch, with four leaving the yard in each start.
Wrobleski didn’t hide from the frustration after the Cubs game. On SportsNet LA, he pointed to the quality of the pitches he was leaving in the zone and the swings that came back at him.
“I think last week’s were better pitches than this week,” he said on SportsNet LA of the homers allowed. “The one to (Carson) Kelly, not a great pitch.
The one to Seiya (Suzuki), I’m not super upset with that. I think maybe most ballparks hold that or it’s off the wall and not a home run.
“I think overall I just didn’t throw the ball well enough obviously. I’m pretty frustrated with these last two, so just continue to work on things and get better. Hopefully come back out, go on a run here and have a nice little scoreless streak.”
The bigger question hanging over Wrobleski is whether he’s giving something away before the pitch. With four homers allowed in back-to-back starts, the idea that he may be tipping pitches has started to circulate.
“Yeah, it’s possible. It’s something we’re going to go look at,” Wrobleski said.
“I changed the game plan pretty significantly today, and felt like they were still on some stuff. Again, it’s baseball.
They get paid a lot of money to play this game and they’re good players.
“Sometimes you’re going to get got. It’s a hard league to pitch in. At the end of the day I just need to continue working to get better.”
The Dodgers have seen a similar issue before. Roki Sasaki dealt with the same kind of concern and eventually moved to a larger glove to help hide his grips.
Manager Dave Roberts also acknowledged the possibility that something on the mound is giving hitters a clue.
“It’s interesting. I think the stuff is really good, as good as it’s been all year.
I think his last start, I felt the ball was just up. Tonight, it just seemed like they were on everything,” he said.
“Some balls that were executed decently, they still took good swings. When he made good pitches, they didn’t offer at, or spoiled.
And when he did make mistakes, it seemed like they were leaving the ballpark. So we’ve got to dig into it.
I know he’s prepared and doing what he can. … That’s something that I think we have to dig into.
“Even that PCA (Pete Crow-Armstrong) at-bat in the first inning, this is a guy throwing 97 miles an hour and he’s got two strikes, and he’s right on time for the breaking ball. No flinch.
I don’t know, so we’re going to dig into it. Not trying to take anything away from those guys offensively, but they were taking really good swings and he’s got really good stuff.
“Something just really stood out that they were checking off and they were virtually on everything.”
For now, the Dodgers are left searching for answers, and Wrobleski has landed in an unwanted spot in team history. He became the first pitcher in franchise history to allow four home runs in multiple games in the same season.
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Jacob Kmatz arrives as part of the same package, giving the Dodgers another arm to evaluate while they manage the fallout of their catching situation. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, gets outfielder Jack Suwinski and international bonus pool money in return, a return that reflects the kind of deadline calculus that often comes with a deal involving both major league need and long-term roster planning. [Read more 🡒]