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Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski: Another impressive spring outing
Rotowire
Wrobleski tossed three scoreless innings in a Cactus League contest against the Athletics on Sunday, allowing two hits and striking out three batters without issuing a walk.
Wrobleski worked up to 41 pitches in the start and threw six different pitch types. The left-hander has has yet to give up a run this spring through six innings and has yielded just three hits with a 4:0 K:BB. Wrobleski is in the mix to begin the regular season in the Dodgers' rotation while Blake Snell works his way back from a shoulder issue, and the former's Cactus League performance so far should boost his chance of earning that role.
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Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski: Could begin season in rotation
Rotowire
Wrobleski is a candidate to begin the campaign in the Dodgers' rotation if Blake Snell (shoulder) isn't ready to pitch by Opening Day, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
While Los Angeles' other five starters have already faced live hitters, Snell hasn't yet thrown from a mound this spring, so his readiness for Opening Day is considerably iffy. If Snell is sidelined early, Wrobleski is arguably the top candidate to fill a starting role should the Dodgers elect to immediately deploy a six-man rotation. That in itself is uncertain for the very early part of the campaign since Los Angeles has two off days across the first eight days of the season. Chen notes that if Wrobleski isn't inserted into the rotation right away, he could instead be called upon to work in a piggyback role with Shohei Ohtani, who may not be fully stretched out as a pitcher by Opening Day due to his anticipated participation solely as a hitter during the World Baseball Classic.
Wrobleski was added to the Dodgers' roster for the NLDS on Thursday.
The 25-year-old lefty will serve as an injury replacement for Tanner Scott (lower body). Wrobleski finished the regular season with a 4.32 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 66.2 innings in the majors, so he likely won't see many high-leverage opportunities in the postseason.
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Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski: Steps up for extra-inning save
Rotowire
Wrobleski notched a save against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, striking out two batters in a perfect 11th inning.
The Dodgers' bullpen blew another late lead Wednesday, as Arizona scored three times in the eighth inning to tie the score. Los Angeles was able to push the game into extra frames, and after neither team scored in the 10th, the Dodgers managed a run in the top of the 11th inning. Wrobleski then came in for the bottom of the frame and sandwiched two punchouts around a groundout to earn a tough save. It was the left-hander's second save of the campaign, though his first was of the three-inning variety against Tampa Bay on Aug. 1. The Dodgers' bullpen has been in disarray throughout much of the season -- the team has 27 total blown saves, and the club's saves leader, Tanner Scott, has 10 -- so it's not infeasible that Wrobleski's clutch performance Wednesday could earn him some high-leverage looks (and even save chances) as manager Dave Roberts looks to find reliable late-inning arms.
Wrobleski notched a hold against the Giants on Saturday, striking out four batters over 2.1 perfect relief innings.
Both teams turned on the offense early in the contest, and when Wrobleski entered in the bottom of the fifth frame, Los Angeles was clinging onto a two-run lead with the tying run coming to the plate. The southpaw struck out Heliot Ramos to end that threat, then cruised through two more perfect frames while the Dodgers tacked three runs onto their lead. Wrobleski went through a rough stretch in mid-August during which he took two losses and gave up five runs over three outings spanning 5.1 innings. He's turned things around dramatically since then -- over his past four appearances, Wrobleski has pitched 7.1 scoreless frames while posting a sizzling 13:1 K:BB.
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Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski: Closes out Rays for first save
Rotowire
Wrobleski earned the save in Friday's 5-0 win over the Rays, allowing one hit and no walks in three scoreless innings. He struck out five.
With the Dodgers holding a 5-0 lead, Wrobleski was brought on essentially for mop-up duty and picked up his first save of the year. The left-hander has a 4.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 46:11 K:BB over 45 innings, and he should continue to serve as a multi-inning weapon but still likely isn't a candidate for many more future save chances out of Los Angeles' bullpen.
The Dodgers recalled Wrobleski from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Wrobleski looks poised to operate as a more traditional reliever during this stint with the big club. With Shohei Ohtani likely to build up to four innings in his next start Wednesday and Blake Snell on track to return from the 60-day injured list later in the week, the Dodgers won't have an opening in the rotation for Wrobleski, who has logged a 4.50 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 40 innings in the majors this season.
