Dodgers: Blake Treinen Breaks Down 'Bad Pitch' to Connor Joe
The Opening Day shine came off quickly for the Dodgers on Saturday night in Denver. It was a reminder of how quickly things can change, even in a "slow" game like baseball.
Blake Treinen, regarded as one of the best relievers in the game, came into the game in the eighth inning with the scored tied 2-2. He coughed up a solo shot to outfielder Connor Joe that ended up being the difference in the game.
The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett provided Treinen's thoughts on the pitch to Joe that got away.
“It’s not like it’s a bad pitch if I execute it, but that was pretty flat middle-middle and there are definitely better pitches to throw in that situation. Of all the pitches that I could’ve thrown, that was probably the one pitch that gives him the most chance."
Treinen admitted that his errant pitch came at a high price.
“Me and Barnes talked about it and we both shook our heads like ‘Why did we do that?’ Baseball sucks sometimes. … One bad pitch kinda cost me and it cost the team.”
One poor pitch isn't going to seismically shift Treinen's role in the Dodgers bullpen. By all accounts, he's one of manager Dave Roberts' most trusted relievers. Doc affirmed that the second game of the season isn't a referendum on Treinen.
“It was a surprise. I was actually kind of thinking about who was going to take down the next inning with the score being tied. But yeah, I’ve got a ton of trust in Blake and he left a cutter out over.”
As the saying goes, it's a long season. Treinen will have plenty of opportunities in the next sixth months to demonstrate why he's one of the most feared relievers in all of baseball.
