It looked like a done deal for the Los Angeles Dodgers! By the middle of the seventh inning in Wednesday’s series finale against the Cleveland Guardians, they held a good 4-1 lead and had a nearly 90% win probability. Will Smith had doubled in a run, Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman had chipped in with RBI singles, and even Hernandez had managed a run. Clayton Kershaw, just back from injury, had also tossed five steady innings, giving up one run. So everything was going smoothly for LA, and they looked poised to sweep the Guardians. But then came the unraveling—because their bullpen had other plans.

Lou Trivino got them to the seventh inning after an RBI single. The call then went to Tanner Scott, the Dodgers’ $72 million closer. And mind you, he has been anything but lights out lately. He managed the seventh but unraveled in the eighth, loading the bases with no outs. Then Nolan Jones hit what should have been a grounder from the left side, but Andy Pages slipped in the outfield. Two runs were scored, and then the game was tied.

But that’s not all. Alex Vesia then took over, and on his third pitch gave up a three-run bomb. And so the game just went out of the Dodgers’ hands, and the win probability from 90% came down to just 2.8%!

The manager Dave Roberts was more than disappointed, “It was sour in the sense of—you know, you win the first two, and you catch a lead going into the eighth inning, and you feel good about the game…. I thought we did enough to win, but unfortunately, that eighth inning got away from us,” he said. Roberts knows that the real issue is not just talent but execution, which is not happening.

Scott now has a 12.15 ERA over his last seven appearances, and Alex Vesia is there at 4.26 ERA in his last 15. To make matters worse, there is some more grim.

Los Angeles Dodgers hold their breath as $325M ace finds himself in thin ice

The Dodgers don’t need another injury, given that the rotation is already hanging by a thread. Especially not to their $325 million ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But during Monday’s game in Cleveland, fans were left holding their breath. It all started with a slick defensive play. In the third inning, Yamamoto dashed off the mound, snagged a bunt to his left, and tagged out rookie Will Wilson at third base.

Not a usual move from a pitcher, but then Yamamoto is far from ordinary! The guy legitimately javelin trains between the starts to keep his arm in the best shape. He went on to retire 11 of the next 12 batters. But then something looked off, and after a strong game, manager Dave Roberts pulled him out at just 88 pitches. Roberts later went to clear the air, saying, “He had a little hip issue. It just didn’t seem as fine in the fifth and sixth. We pushed him last time, so not going full throttle tonight made sense as he gears up for Sunday.”

That next start is against the New York Yankees. So no one wants to see the Japanese ace miss that showdown. But the elephant in the room is how serious this thing is. Does he need a break? Yamamoto, after all, is under a lot of pressure, given that just he and Scott have been carrying the pitching front for the team. So far, there is no official word, but the Dodgers really will be watching closely.

Because if a pitcher with a 1.97 ERA goes down, LA might not be able to cope. What do you think? Is the pressure getting to Yamamoto? Let us know in the comments below.