Dodgers, Dave Roberts pay price of Game 3 nailbiter with cursed Blake Treinen outing

Shohei Ohtani pitched well on October 28, his World Series debut. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar left the mound with no outs and runners on second and third base in the seventh inning of a 2-1 game.

Anthony Banda entered to face the bottom of the Toronto Blue Jays' order. He collected two outs, but allowed two runs, and he exited the game after intentionally walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had already homered off Ohtani in the second frame. Then, Dodgers Nation held its collective breath.

Blake Treinen emerged from the bullpen to face Bo Bichette, and the matchup went about as well as expected, given his numbers this postseason. Bichette drilled a hard liner over Kiké Hernández's head in the outfield, which scored Andrés Giménez to give the Blue Jays a 5-1 lead.

The bleeding didn't stop there. On the first pitch he saw, Addison Barger rolled a single under the glove of Mookie Betts at shortstop, and Guerrero scored from third base. The four-run seventh inning may be enough to sink the Dodgers, who'd collected just four hits to that point.

Blake Treinen allows two runs in World Series Game 4 as Dodgers fight to maintain advantage

LA went above and beyond to win the 18-inning epic that was World Series Game 3. Dave Robers used his entire bullpen, and would've turned back to Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who pitched a complete game just two days prior — for the 19th inning, if necessary. Running through the whole 'pen forced Roberts to turn to Treinen in a tough spot, which hasn't worked in the Dodgers' favor in recent weeks.

Treinen has allowed four runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings this postseason, which works out to an 8.31 ERA in nine appearances. His struggles on the mound predated the postseason. Treinen allowed 10 runs on 11 hits over 9.1 innings in September, and his opponents posted a .306 batting average against him that month. He pitched less than an inning in five of his 11 appearances.

Los Angeles used 10 pitchers in its thrilling Game 3 victory, and Treinen was one of the most well-rested arms in its bullpen, having gone just a third of an inning that night. Still, he proved that the Dodgers should no longer turn to him in pivotal moments. Money is no object to LA's front office, but the $13.5 million he's owed next season will sting.