Dodgers 4 Padres 3: Bullpen is not in the Danger Zone

The Dodgers took game two behind a perfect performance out of the bullpen.

Brandon McCarthy made his second start of the season, and it was much less smooth than his first start. McCarthy tossed five shutout innings in his first outing against the Rockies, but gave up two quick runs in the first today after a leadoff walk and a home run by Yangervis Solarte.

The Dodgers responded quickly after Chase Utley reached base on a nubber up the first base line, that was fielded cleanly but the off-target throw was dropped at first by Wil Myers. Corey Seager followed it up with a single, and Justin Turner grounded into a double play before Adrian Gonzalez launched a double to left to score Utley.

The Dodgers took the lead in the fourth after Gonzalez led off with a single. Yasiel Puig drew a walk and Yasmani Grandal singled to load the bases. Howie Kendrick barely kept a double down the line to score two (Chris Woodward held Grandal at third, good call), but the Dodgers left two in scoring position with no outs.

McCarthy immediately gave up the lead in the top of the fifth after Alexei Ramirez led off with a double. After a failed bunt by Luis Perdomo, Travis Jankowski blooped a single to score Ramirez. McCarthy got Myers and Matt Kemp to get out of the fifth, but he was pulled after the inning.

McCarthy went five and gave up three runs, three walks and three hits. He struck out six, so his main issue was the walks. His control was shockingly great in his first start back, but it wasn’t as sharp today and that’s what hurt him. Not only did it lead to one of the runs, but it drove his pitch count up in a couple high-stress innings. He only threw 77 pitches after throwing 72 in his first start, so the bullpen was called on for four innings once again.

Casey Fien tossed a scoreless sixth and Chris Hatcher got two outs in the seventh before being relieved for Adam Liberatore. Liberatore got the final out of the seventh and the first out of the eighth.

Liberatore hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 18 against the Angels. In that time, he’s allowed three of 14 inherited runners to score, so while that isn’t as record-setting, Liberatore has still been a great pickup and a very solid lefty arm out of the bullpen.

Joe Blanton got the final two outs of the eighth and Kenley Jansen tossed a perfect ninth, getting his mortal enemy Melvin Upton in the process.

That’s four perfect innings out of a bullpen that has thrown more innings in this series than the starters have. That’s no way to live and they can all use the All-Star break, but for the maligned bullpen and the “front office did nothing to help the bullpen” narrative to start the season, they’re the reason the Dodgers are 10 games over .500.

The Dodgers are the eighth team to 50 wins this season, as the Orioles got there earlier today. They kept pace with the Giants and are 50-40. Last year after 90 games, they were 51-39. So considering how terrible this season has been, this season hasn’t been all that bad.

Next: Corey Seager to Participate in Home Run Derby

The Dodgers play their final game before the break tomorrow with Kenta Maeda taking on Christian Friedrich.