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3 Dodgers who should’ve been trusted more in 2022 NLDS loss vs Padres

By Jason Reed |
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Tyler Anderson #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres in game four of the National League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 15, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Tyler Anderson #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres in game four of the National League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 15, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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After a franchise-record, 111 wins in the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately fell flat in the NLDS to the rival San Diego Padres. Being handed the gentleman’s sweep after winning Game 1 is inexcusable, making this the most disappointing season in franchise history.

It easily could have been avoided as well. Dave Roberts certainly did not manage his best baseball and the “high-powered” offense forgot to hit with runners in scoring position. It does not matter how talented a team is. If the players not managed well and/or can’t come up with big hits, they’re not going to win anything.

The Dodgers didn’t get it done, plain and simple. What makes it more painful, though, is that the team had more options that it didn’t even try to utilize. Perhaps with a little bit more trust in other key players, things could have been different.

This isn’t a Captain Hindsight situation, either. Fans were wondering what was going on with these guys, especially as the Dodgers entered Game 4.

Here are three Dodgers who should’ve been trusted more in 2022 NLDS

Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

3. Tyler Anderson

The seventh inning of Game 4 unraveled at the seams for Roberts. He was trying to steal outs with Tommy Kahnle to bridge the gap to the eighth and ninth. The sad part is that it could’ve been much more manageable if the Dodgers’ skipper just had more faith in his starter.

Tyler Anderson has been fantastic against the Padres all season, allowing just five runs in five starts against them. After five scoreless innings, despite only being at 86 pitches, Roberts yanked Anderson in favor of Chris Martin.

Martin was also great for the Dodgers, but it would’ve been nice to use him one inning later to extend the game. Yes, Anderson was facing the heart of San Diego’s lineup for a third time, but he had plenty of success against that part of the lineup. He had the favorable lefty-lefty matchup against Juan Soto and has great numbers against Manny Machado.

At least let him go out there to face the lefty and give him a chance to potentially work a clean sixth. Soto and Machado have a combined .167 batting average against him. Sure, Brandon Drury is a matchup problem, but at that point, there would either be two outs or Martin would be in the game anyway.

Then Martin can pitch the seventh, keeping Kahnle out of this game entirely.

Joey Gallo of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Joey Gallo of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

2. Joey Gallo

To the Yankees fans rolling their eyes reading this right now — stop it, I already know what you’re going to say about Joey Gallo.

He definitely wasn’t some kind of magical solution that would have turned the Dodgers’ season around if he would’ve gotten a chance. But with the performance of the other players in the lineup, it’s a bit puzzling that he didn’t get at least one crack at it with his patented boom-or-bust swing.

Heck, there were plenty of times where the Dodgers struck out anyway. At least with Gallo, there would have been the potential of hitting a home run, whereas with Chris Taylor it felt like the best-case scenario was a walk.

Gallo probably should have gotten the start in Game 4 against Joe Musgrove. His numbers against Musgrove historically aren’t great (2-10 with a 3B and one walk), but they were still better than Taylor’s and Bellinger’s.

Plus, it would have at least given the Dodgers the ability to use Taylor later in the game as a pinch-hitter against a left-handed reliever if they needed it. The only right-handed bats the Dodgers had off the bench were Austin Barnes and Miguel Vargas, which obviously is less than ideal.

By starting Gallo, the team would have gotten better fielding (not that it mattered in this game) and would’ve had more of a power option on offense. At the absolute worst, he would’ve just done the same thing that Chris Taylor did.

Then, Roberts would have the ability to bring Taylor in for Max Muncy in the seventh to face Tim Hill. Muncy struck out with runners on first and third and one out against the southpaw.

Dustin May of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Dustin May of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

1. Dustin May

Dustin May was actually on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster! You just wouldn’t have known it because he didn’t make a single appearance in this series, even though there were opportune times to use him.

Perhaps the biggest miss by Roberts was not throwing May in the seventh inning of Game 4. It’s painful to keep bringing that disastrous inning up, but May would have been an exponentially better option to pitch in that inning than Tommy Kahnle, who was already overused.

Even better is the fact that May could have gotten more than three outs if he managed to pitch well! I doubt Roberts would have let him get six outs to get the Dodgers to the ninth, but May was definitely capable of doing that. As troubling as May looked at times, his numbers the first time through an order were still elite.

May limited opposing hitters to a .116 batting average with a .482 OPS the first time through the order. The trio of Jurickson Profar, Trent Grisham and Austin Nola — all of whom he would have faced in the seventh — have career averages of .167, .077 and .000 against May, respectively.

If all went well, Roberts could’ve even let May get Ha-Seong Kim out in the top of the eighth. If he’s throwing the ball well at that point, Roberts can then ride the hot hand the same way he did with Julio Urías in the 2020 postseason.

That also would’ve allowed Kahnle to be available for Game 5, as he wouldn’t have pitched three days in a row. Instead, Roberts allowed Kahnle, a guy who has thrown just 12.2 innings since 2020, throw on back-to-back nights, against the exact same hitters he faced the night before. 

This was managerial malpractice and Dustin May should be outraged. If the team didn’t trust him to pitch (or if he was hurt), then he should not have taken up a roster spot.

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