Dave Roberts' legacy on line after taking Dodgers' foot off gas pedal in Game 4

There's just no way around it — the Dodgers let themselves get beaten in Game 4 of the World Series. We can live with a bullpen game, as the Dodgers really have no other options, but the relievers they trotted out after opener Ben Casparius (already a weird choice to begin with) were likely some of the lowest down on Dave Roberts' "trust tree."

Daniel Hudson, who's usually pretty good, gave up a go-ahead grand slam to Anthony Volpe. Landon Knack, the bulk reliever for the night, gave up another run to allow the Yankees to pull away. Brent Honeywell, as the last man up, gave up five more runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it a blowout for New York.

It's pretty clear why Roberts went to these guys. It's the same strategy he rolled out against the Mets in NLCS Game 5, with the Dodgers already up 3-1 in the series and willing to take a loss. Save the dogs, and all that.

Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, and Anthony Banda did get an off day because of this strategy, but the Dodgers allowed the Yankees to open the door. It definitely feels like he's playing with fire here.

Dodgers let themselves get knocked around in World Series Game 4, allowing Yankees to see light at the end of the tunnel

While the Dodgers didn't put their best guys on the mound for Game 4, the Yankees got a little bit of an ego boost and the bats got to wake up. If the "dogs" don't have their best stuff in Game 5, there's little reason that this offense (except for Freddie Freeman, it seems) will be able to make up a run deficit. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts still aren't hitting. Gavin Lux is a liability at second and in the lineup, and Gold Glover Tommy Edman hasn't looked great at shortstop.

Trotting out Vesia, Treinen, Kopech, and so on would've been a gamble. They all pitched in Game 3 and did need the rest. But there's also room for the argument that they should've been pedal to the metal on Game 4 to get this thing over the line and deliver the first Fall Classic sweep since the Giants took down the Tigers in 2012.

At the very least, why was Aaron Judge allowed to see hittable pitches and get comfortable with the Dodgers down 10-4? Will it matter? Who knows? But why even open the door?

The Dodgers just can't let this thing get away from them. They still have a two-game lead and home field advantage in the last two games, if they're necessary, but we don't even want to let the Yankees get that far. Send out the dogs for Game 5 and get it done.