Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Gives Padres Bullpen Ultimate Praise

Aug 18, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mason Miller (22) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the San Diego Padres bullpen after the opening game of their three-game series on Friday.

After six shutout innings from Yu Darvish, the Padres deployed three All-Stars, who kept the Dodgers scoreless in the late innings. Jason Adam threw a perfect seventh inning, Mason Miller allowed two walks but got out of the eighth, and Robert Suarez struck out two batters in the ninth as he closed the game.

On Saturday, the Padres used Adrian Morejon to close the game after he came into the game in the eighth inning.

“They’ve got four or five guys that you could argue on any roster they could be the closer,” Roberts said.

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The Padres made history in 2025, becoming the first team in MLB history to send three relief pitchers to the All-Star Game. They further improved upon their already elite set of relief arms by adding Miller, who was one of the most sought after closers in the game, to their roster in exchange for four prospects.

Since the trade deadline, the Padres have a 2.37 ERA, which is the best in MLB during that stretch. Their 10.65 strikeouts per nine innings is also the best mark in the National League. Five rostered Padres have recorded saves this season, and closer Robert Suarez leads MLB with 34.

The Padres will hope their bullpen can continue to produce these kinds of results for the remainder of the season, as they are in a heated battle for the top spot in the NL West.

The Padres lead the Dodgers by one game in the division after their win on Saturday, and will look to extend their lead to two in Sunday's finale. The Dodgers currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Padres, so the Padres will need to finish the season at least a game ahead of their rivals to secure their first division title since 2006.

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Nick Pivetta will start Sunday's game, and will hope to produce a quality start to hand off the later innings to the Padres elite bullpen.

The final game of the regular season between the Padres and Dodgers begins Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT.

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