Noah Syndergaard, Dodgers bullpen struggle in loss to Nationals

Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard throws during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.

Staff Writer

May 31, 2023 7:17 PM PT

Noah Syndergaard beat himself up as thoroughly as the Washington Nationals pummeled him on Wednesday, the Dodgers right-hander adding some doom to the afternoon gloom in Chavez Ravine with another shoddy start in a 10-6 Dodgers loss.

“It really sucks,” Syndergaard said after giving up five runs and seven hits — three of them homers — and inducing one swinging strike in five innings, his ERA jumping to 6.54 in 11 starts. “Right now I just feel like I’m the only weak link on this team.”

If that were true, the Dodgers, who have a National League-best 34-23 record after going 18-10 in May, might be running away with the division instead of clinging to a slim lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Syndergaard’s struggles have put a serious drag on the pitching staff, jeopardized his rotation spot and perplexed the coaching staff to a point where manager Dave Roberts was at a loss for words after Wednesday’s game.

“I really don’t know what to say about the outing,” he said.

But Syndergaard is not the only weak link on the pitching staff. The Dodgers are tied for 21st in the major leagues with a 4.46 team ERA after leading baseball with a 2.80 ERA last season.

A rotation plagued by injuries to Dustin May and Julio Urías ranks 14th with a 4.40 ERA after leading the major leagues with a 2.75 ERA in 2022. The bullpen has been even worse, ranking 26th with a 4.54 ERA after ranking second with a 2.87 ERA in 2022.

“It’s disappointing, I think, as far as our expectations for our pitching staff and performance,” Roberts said. “I think the stuff is there. When we need to make a pitch, we’re not doing it consistently when we have count leverage. Case in point, numerous times today. So therefore, you get inflated ERAs.

“We’ve typically been very good at preventing runs. Certain guys just aren’t doing it. We’re evaluating all the time. As we keep running guys out there, we’ll have some decisions to make. But ultimately, players make the decisions, and those decisions are based on performance.”

There aren’t many options to replace Syndergaard — the Dodgers are already starting two rookies, Michael Grove and Bobby Miller, against the New York Yankees this weekend — but Roberts hinted at the possibility of using Monday’s off-day to skip Syndergaard in the rotation.

“I hate the idea of beginning June as a tryout camp,” Roberts said, “but we’ve got to figure out some stability and dependability as far as what we’re going to get.”

The bullpen has been just as unpredictable. Brusdar Graterol entered Wednesday’s game in the eighth with the score tied 5-5. He hit Keibert Ruiz with his first pitch, bobbled a C.J. Abrams grounder to his left and made an ill-advised, off-balance throw to second that bounced into the outfield, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

“Yeah,” Graterol said, when asked if he tried to do too much on the play instead of getting an easy out at first. “My cleats got a little stuck, and I made a bad throw.”

Washington Nationals' Keibert Ruiz celebrates with Stone Garrett after hitting a home run.

Graterol nearly escaped the jam by getting two outs, but he left an 0-and-2 slider up and in to Luis Garcia, who drove a three-run homer to right field for an 8-5 lead.

“I was supposed to throw that pitch on the ground,” Graterol said. “I left it up.”

Mookie Betts, who opened the first with his 40th career leadoff homer, led off the eighth with a homer to center to make it 8-6, but Dodgers right-hander Phil Bickford gave up a two-run homer to Keibert Ruiz in the top of the ninth to make it 10-6.

Will Smith hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning, Freddie Freeman (20 games) and J.D. Martinez (15 games) extended hitting streaks, and Miguel Rojas hit a clutch two-out RBI single that tied the game 5-5 in the seventh.

But the Dodgers went two for 14 with runners in scoring position and scored only once after loading the bases with no outs in the third.

It appeared Syndergaard, who gave up solo homers to Ruiz and Abrams in the second, would finish the fifth with a 4-3 lead when Corey Dickerson lined into what should have been an inning-ending double play.

But after catching the liner, second baseman Miguel Vargas’ underhand flip to second pulled Rojas off the bag, and Joey Meneses, who had doubled with one out, was safe. Jeimer Candelario then clubbed a two-run homer to center for a 5-4 Washington lead.

“We had an opportunity to put that inning to bed,” Roberts said, “and we couldn’t do it.”