Dodgers reliever suffers baffling injury at worst possible time

The Los Angeles Dodgers have placed right-handed reliever Anthony Banda on the 15-day injured list after he sustained a hairline fracture in his hand. According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Banda caused the injury by striking an immovable object in frustration after being pulled from Monday’s game. Banda allowed two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs, leading to his emotional outburst.

With Banda sidelined, the Dodgers will lean on other reliable relievers, such as Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, and Michael Kopech, all of whom have demonstrated strong command over the past month and a half.

The Dodgers bullpen is getting thin

As Banda is out for at least two weeks and Joe Kelly remains on the mend, the Dodgers accelerated Brusdar Graterol’s return to the bullpen after his hamstring injury. Graterol made his first appearance since being placed on the IL in last night’s game against the Cubs, delivering a shutout inning on 21 pitches.

Despite holding the second-best record in baseball, the Dodgers have hit a rough patch, losing four of their last six games. While their bullpen has remained a strong point — ranking fifth in the league with a 3.58 ERA — the starting rotation has shown signs of struggle. Walker Buehler had a tough outing on Monday, allowing five runs on nine hits over five innings against the Cubs.

"There were some command issues clearly... it's hard to pitch consistently if you don't have the margin," said Dave Roberts postgame. "When he does make a mistake, he pays for it, even if it's not that bad of a pitch."

Roberts remains optimistic about the team’s pitching outlook. The Dodgers welcomed back Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday, who allowed just one run across four innings. Additionally, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are nearing their returns, which could provide much-needed depth and take pressure off the bullpen if they can extend their outings.