The Dodgers lost for the fifth time in a row, this time against the Orioles. As per Elias, this is only the ninth time since 1961 that a ballclub has lost a nine-inning game after having a no-hit bid that deep. This time, it wasn’t the hitters that messed it up. It was a $22 million closer who handed away Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s perfect outing.

In the ninth inning, the game took a dramatic and devastating turn. The Dodgers, who were ahead 3–1, put their faith in their $22 million-a-year closer Blake Treinen to lock the door. Instead, he fell apart, giving up a double, a hit-by-pitch, walks to load the bases, and finally losing the game on a walk-off single. And the final scoreboard read, 3-4, the Orioles also won game 2 of this 3-game set.

In the postgame presser, when Blake Treinen came in front of the mic, he straightforwardly accepted his mistake. He said, “Obviously, command. There’s really no words. You’re paid to be a professional and at least throw strikes, and I didn’t do that.”  Treinen went on, “It cost one of the better outings I’ve ever seen in my career. With Yama, he deserves better than that. The offense deserves better than that. It just really sucks to be on that end of it, and put Tanner in a tough position to come in. He’s key hold to have throw strikes, great pitches, and big league hitters are going to find a way to move runners. It’s a pretty low point for me coming off the heels of kind of a tough stretch right here. But I’ve got to do better.”

The struggles aren’t new for Treinen, who has a 1–3 record with a 4.26 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and a 1.74 WHIP over 19 innings in 23 games. He had to miss the start of the season because of problems with his right forearm, but he came back in late July. So, when he returned, the optimism was high, but what he put on the mound was not something Dodgerland was looking forward to.

The Boys in Blue not only lost the game, but Treinen’s outing ruined Yoshi’s gem.

Yamamoto had quietly turned Camden Yards into his showcase. He struck out 10 batters, walked only two, and needed only 36 pitches to finish off his last 11 outs. As one manager from the other team described it, every splitter, cutter, and curveball was ‘no-hit-type stuff.’ His outing sparked hope in Dodgerland, but it all went away in a flash as the bullpen fell apart. Even the skipper isn’t happy with what happened on the mound.

Manager Dave Roberts put it in simple terms: “Blake had a bad night. He wasn’t good tonight and it was very uncharacteristic…He’s been our best reliever for quite some time, so you’ve got to give him some leash.”

Truth to be told, he has to do better if he wants his spot on a playoff team. And the Dodgers can’t afford these losses with the playoffs looming closer, and the Padres are just one game behind them. But the problems don’t end with pitching performance—injuries are piling up, too.

Dodgers injuries keep rolling: Rushing out, Glasnow on the verge

In the Dodgers’ dugout, the injury bug is not leaving anytime soon. On Friday, the Dodgers just put youngster Dalton Rushing on the 10-day IL after he fouled a pitch off his shin and fell in pain. Luckily, he didn’t break anything, but the timing is terrible. Manager Dave Roberts was honest when he said, “Dalton tried to give it a go today… but this is going to be a three-, four-, five-day situation. So to get him on the IL to cover our bases just makes sense.” And that’s not it, yet another hit in the pitching staff.

Tyler Glasnow was unable to start against the Orioles due to tightness in his back. Roberts stated that the decision to hold him back was merely a precaution, and they hope to have him back “early next week” if possible, to avoid placing him on the injured list.

So, here we are: two positions falling apart at the same time. The depth of the catcher position is very limited, and the rotation requires consistency. Roberts’ tone conveys that he is cautiously optimistic, but there is a clear underlying sense that this situation is not ideal.

The Dodgers can’t afford these collapses with October coming. It was surprising that they lost to the last-place Orioles, and now injuries to players like Rushing and Glasnow are showing problems all over the diamond. Stability needs to come quickly, or a rocky September might grow into a postseason disaster.