Who waves the white flag in the middle of a rivalry series? Apparently, the reigning champs do, because when your pitching staff looks like a hospital ward, strategy takes a wild turn. With a jaw-dropping 15 pitchers on the Injured List, the Dodgers found themselves forced to dip deep into their farm system, handing the ball to minor league call-up Matt Sauer. But instead of rising to the moment, Sauer’s outing quickly turned into batting practice for the Padres in Game Two.

After an exciting 8-7 win in the series opener, the Dodgers got thrashed by the Padres on Tuesday night, 11-1. They didn’t even think of putting up a fight, as the strategy seemed to focus more on winning the series than the night. That meant preserving the bullpen for the final on Wednesday. That opened the door for the twenty-six-year-old Sauer, who made his fourth major league outing after he was signed on a non-roster deal last winter. But unfortunately, it turned out to be a nightmare for him. His struggle on the mound didn’t go unnoticed by manager Dave Roberts.

While talking to the media after the humiliating loss, Roberts commented on the pitcher’s performance, “To be quite honest, I don’t think the command was good the entire night, but I felt that he wasn’t compromised as far as his health. The stuff, the fastball, the delivery—all stayed intact, so I wasn’t really worried about the health component. But even before that, his command, you know, wasn’t optimal.” Well, he is right. Sauer’s struggle with command was on full display as he offered a feast to the Padres batters.

After Lou Trivino started as an opener with a scoreless first inning, Sauer got crushed, throwing 111 pitches while giving up nine runs on 13 hits in the next 4 2/3 innings. His performance was so bad that the team had to call Enrique Hernández to pitch the last 2 1/3 innings. Guess what? That set the team’s record for the earliest a positional player had to pitch in a game. Sauer now has a 5.6 ERA with a 1.38 WHIP and just 19 strikeouts. But he shared hope after the game, “They were able to get the bat to the ball, get some hits. I’ve gotta show up tomorrow ready to work. I’ve just gotta be better with locating the ball,” he said to the media.

Sauer just became the easy scapegoat in a Dodgers bullpen held together by tape and prayers, and Roberts definitely is well aware of it. Their All-Star injured list includes names like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Gavin Stone. The only arms they can now trust are Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May. If they’re serious about defending their World Series crown, they’ll need more firepower in the armory. Thankfully, they have a two-way phenom grinding his way back to the mound, and he might just be the cure to their pitching woes.

Dave Roberts hopeful on Shohei Ohtani’s return

The Dodgers have the best option at hand to end their pitching migraine: the unicorn, Shohei Ohtani. Even though he’s been smashing records this season as the Dodgers’ DH, batting .292 with a 1.011 OPS, 23 home runs, and 39 RBIs, the team, in its current state, desperately needs his arm back on the mound. Not only to pitch but to pitch as much as he can. He just took another step forward toward his return on Tuesday.

He threw simulated innings for the first time since his two-inning session on May 31, on Tuesday before the game. This is his third live batting practice outing overall. And manager Roberts is more hopeful than ever, but surely careful. “I would say that it’s definitely not nonzero, how about that? So I mean, it’s north of zero.”And the best part? His form looks sharper than ever. “I thought he was good,” Roberts said. “I thought he was really good, the fastball had life, and the sweeper was really good… A really good day. Three innings.”

That ‘north of zero’ possibility might be just enough to keep the Dodgers’ hopes alive. If they can get him on the mound after the All-Star break, that would be the perfect remedy for their pitching struggles. The final call is yet to be made, and understandably so, the Dodgers won’t take any chances with their prized DH.