The Los Angeles Dodgers started the second half of the season by winning a series in the Bronx against the New York Yankees before taking another series from the Philadelphia Phillies. Next on the schedule were the New York Mets, and given how their season had unfolded, a series sweep appeared to be on the cards. However, the Mets dashed those hopes with an 8-3 blowout victory as the Dodgers’ bullpen unraveled. Following Sunday’s loss, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made his expectations for the bullpen crystal clear.

“They have got to start getting ahead, get back to getting ahead. The walks are just way too high. I think the usage has been very, very minimal. So they should all be fresh,” Dave Roberts observed, per Sportsnet LA on X. “For what we’re trying to do, it’s just got to be better.”

The Dodgers are aiming for a third straight World Series title, and bullpen meltdowns that cost them leads are not an option. Sunday was exactly the kind of game they were trying to avoid.

When Emmet Sheehan left the mound after throwing for five innings, the Dodgers were leading 3-1. Despite throwing 87 pitches, Sheehan allowed only one run to Francisco Lindor on an RBI single.

The bullpen relieved Sheehan in the sixth inning, and the game spiraled out of the Dodgers’ control. Evan Phillips inherited the inning after Jack Dreyer walked Carson Benge and Luis Robert Jr. with only one out. However, the move proved to be costly as Phillips gave up the first big hit of the game. Tyrone Taylor launched a three-run home run to push the Mets past the Dodgers.

Phillips’ outing on Sunday echoed his recent struggles on the mound after returning from Tommy John surgery. The righty reliever has posted a 6.75 ERA and has given up 4 homers in 6.2 innings since then.

“A couple of them have just been bad pitches. A couple have been poor pitch decisions,” Phillips said, per Dodgers Nation. “I chalked today’s up to a guy just put a good swing on a good pitch. I thought I executed well to a spot we had open for him. He just put a swing on it that put it over the fence. It would be nice if some of these barrels would be base hits or doubles, but they’re going over the fence right now.”

After Phillips, Will Klein was tasked to hold off the Mets batters next. However, he too failed to keep them in check, giving up four more runs to extend the lead. In the seventh inning, after A.J. Ewing scored on a passed ball by catcher Dalton Rushing, Klein loaded the bases by walking Jorge Polanco. On the next count to Marcus Semien, Klein gave up a three-run homer of his own.

It secured the Mets’ win as their relievers recorded solid outings on the mound, keeping the Dodgers’ lineup quiet. The Dodgers managed a total of nine hits during Sunday’s loss.

“I like what these guys have done, as far as the body of work,” Roberts told the Orange County Register. “But the reality is that Klein is trying to find his way again. I think Evan, I think I’ve got to give him some different situations. So I think that’s where it’s at. And today, Jack (Dreyer) had a great lane, and he just can’t walk two guys in an inning.”

The Dodgers play the Seattle Mariners next, and in their aim of a World Series three-peat, the fewer mistakes, the better.