Justin Wrobleski, the guy who was supposedly an All-Star ace for the Dodgers in the first half of the season, is in a full-blown crisis, and our Seattle Mariners played a starring role in exposing it. This dude’s ERA has absolutely ballooned, jumping from a clean 2.62 all the way up to 3.56 in just his last four starts.
The Wheels Are Coming Off For Wrobleski
What in the world happened to this guy? Wrobleski was rock solid early on, even snagging an All-Star nod. But since the second half kicked off, it’s been a total meltdown. He’s coughed up 19 earned runs in his last 19 2/3 innings pitched. Think about that, practically an earned run per inning! And the long ball? Forget about it. He gave up only eight homers through his first sixteen starts, which is pretty respectable. Now? He’s allowed a staggering eleven dingers since July 28. That’s more than doubling his season total in a little over two weeks. The worst part, for his team anyway, is he served up four home runs in back-to-back starts, first to our very own Seattle Mariners, and then again to the Chicago Cubs. Ouch.
He even gave up two more taters in Saturday’s loss against the Milwaukee Brewers. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tried to spin it a bit, saying Wrobleski had a “decent outing” outside of “one bad pitch” to Joey Ortiz. Roberts said, “I even told him … it was one bad pitch for me, the Ortiz pitch. I thought he did a really nice job.” Sure, he went six full innings, walked just one, and struck out six, but those home runs are killers. When a pitcher goes from All-Star form to giving up bombs like it’s batting practice, it is a massive problem. You gotta wonder if Roberts is just trying to save face for his struggling hurler.
Dodgers’ Pitching Merry-Go-Round
Meanwhile, other arms are shuffling around the Dodgers’ rotation. Tyler Glasnow is almost done with his rehab assignment, which means help is on the way for that pitching staff. He threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings with Oklahoma City recently, and it sounds like he just needs one more rehab start. Roberts is eyeing him for five innings and 75 pitches in that final tune-up before he rejoins the big league club. That’s a huge boost for them, especially with Wrobleski struggling so hard.
Then there’s Tarik Skubal, set to make his second home start for his new team on Sunday, facing Logan Henderson. This is a wild twist, because Skubal and Henderson were actually in trade talks for each other just weeks ago between the Brewers and Tigers. Henderson himself even said, “It’s funny how that works out.” Talk about awkward! It just goes to show you how quickly things can change in this league, and how teams are constantly trying to shore up their rotations, sometimes with guys they almost traded for.
So, the Dodgers pitching picture is all over the place right now. They’ve got an All-Star slumping hard, getting shelled by teams like our Mariners, while a big arm is on the cusp of returning, and a new guy is facing an old trade flame. Glasnow’s return could stabilize things, but Wrobleski needs to figure out how to stop giving up the long ball, or this “one bad pitch” problem is going to bury him.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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