Watching the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen explode time and time again must be making their fans turn bald. How many times can the relievers make the Dodgers faithful pull their hair out?
It's been a storyline this season and much of the scrutiny has fallen toward reliever Tanner Scott.
Scott is tied with New York Mets reliever Ryan Helsley for the most blown saves in the 2025 MLB season with nine. Scott came into Dodgers games when the team had a lead and coughed it up.
On Friday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on Scott to try and get Los Angeles into the win column. Again, it didn't work out. Scott came on after fellow reliever Blake Treinen, who got the loss in the San Francisco Giants' 5-1 win in 10 innings.
Scott came on in a bases-loaded situation with Giants catcher Patrick Bailey at the plate. This was a situation where Scott really needed to bear down. If he could potentially coax a double-play ball from Bailey, then the game would move into the 11th.
But Scott threw a chest-high pitch to Bailey and he didn't miss it. With one big swing, Bailey sent the Oracle Park fans into a total frenzy. His grand slam secured a victory for the Giants, who have been hot recently.
Besides the blown saves, Scott is 1-3 overall with a 5.01 ERA. In 50 1/3 innings of work, Scott does have 21 saves with 1.27 WHIP, according to StatMuse. In nine MLB seasons, Scott is 32-27 with 76 saves and a 3.74 ERA.
Treinen is 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA. He only has two saves this season with 12 walks and 31 strikeouts. In 11 MLB seasons, Treinen has a 44-38 record, a 2.81 ERA and 591 strikeouts. He's also a two-time World Series champion.
Treinen also gained a lot of attention on social media as he had the name of assassinated political commentator Charlie Kirk, along with two crosses on each side of Kirk's name, on the side of his hat.
He worked one inning on Friday night, surrendering a walk in the 10th to Jung Ho Lee. Lee's at-bat, in reality, should have ended with a strikeout. Lee fouled off a pitch that Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt caught.
But the home plate umpire checked the ball, considered that it was scuffed by Lee's bat, and the at-bat continued. Treinen walked Lee on the very next pitch, bringing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts out of the dugout. He pulled Treinen for Scott, giving his reliever yet another chance to keep Los Angles in the game.
That, of course, backfired. It also ruined another outstanding start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed only one earned run in seven innings of work.
The Dodgers and Giants have two more games in the weekend series on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles enters Saturday's game with a 2.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West Division. They maintained that edge, despite their loss, as the Padres also lost 4-2 to the NL's worst team, the Colorado Rockies, at Petco Park on Friday.
Not having an effective bullpen that comes through in clutch times might haunt Los Angeles over these final days. Roberts' decisions have come under scrutiny from Dodgers fans at times. He's obviously proven himself to be a World Series-winning manager (remember last season?).
Scott and Treinen just have to bear down and get those key outs. Los Angeles desperately needs them to come through in the clutch.