Justin Wrobleski

Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts had mentioned that the team would likely add an extra bullpen arm at the expense of a position player, and that’s exactly what they did with Hyeseong Kim being left off of the roster. Everything else is exactly as it was for their Divisional Series against the Braves.

Wrobleski will not be an option for the Dodgers’ bullpen for the series against Atlanta, nor will fellow southpaw Jack Dreyer. Both could be options for Los Angeles if they advance to the NLCS to face the Brewers or Padres. Kris Bubic will be one of the left-handed relief options for Los Angeles with Dreyer and Wrobleski unavailable.

Wrobleski has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings in his last five appearances. He’ll probably stick on the Dodgers roster as a middle relief option in the NLDS. An All-Star as a starter before spending some time on the IL and finishing the season in the pen, he’ll enter October 12-5 with a 3.66 ERA in 140 innings.

Brock Stewart opened Tuesday’s bullpen game for the Dodgers with a scoreless first inning. Justin Wrobleski followed with a scoreless second before the Dodgers put four runs on the board in the bottom of the frame, putting Wrobleski in line for the win. Only Kyle Hurt tossed more than one inning. The Dodgers used eight relievers, including Roki Sasaki, in a collective effort for Tuesday’s win.

The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for more from Wrobleski, who was always going to be on an abbreviated pitch count. The left-hander threw 72 percent of his pitches for strikes while posting a 16 percent swinging strike rate and 41 percent CSW. His four-seamer averaged 96.2 mph, and his sinker was 96.8, both of which are well above his season average. Obviously, he only threw 32 pitches in this one, but he seemed healthy after his earlier battle with forearm inflammation.

The Dodgers are bringing up Landon Knack from Triple-A to cover the bulk of the contest after burning through most of their bullpen after Blake Snell left Wednesday’s game after just one inning.

All of the runs came in the fourth, when Wrobleski gave up a homer and then four more hits before being pulled. The Dodgers would rather be using Wrobleski as a reliever right now, but between Shohei Ohtani’s setback and Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer landing on the IL, they’re lacking alternatives. They might go to Gavin Stone in this spot next weekend, assuming that he’s healthy after being scratched from his last Triple-A outing.

Wrobleski, an All-Star starter this year, is expected to spend the rest of the season in the pen after missing the last two weeks with forearm inflammation. He allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings in his only rehab appearance for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Wrobleski went on the IL six days ago with forearm inflammation, but he’s feeling better and threw a bullpen session today. The switch to the pen comes after he overtook his previous career high in innings and struggled in his last four starts, surrendering 19 earned runs over 19 2/3 innings. He could come off the IL in early September, but it looks he’ll be a two- or three-inning guy when it happens.

Wrobleski has struggled in each of his last three starts and it sounds like the forearm issue may have been partially to blame there. No word yet on how long the Dodgers expect him to be sidelined for. Kyle Hurt was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move on Sunday.

It’s not saying much, but this was Wrobleski’s best start in his last four. He was an All-Star a month ago, but since moving to 11-2 with a 2.63 ERA on July 21, he’s gone 0-3 with an 8.69 ERA since. He should face the Pirates next week, but at this rate, he might not finish the season in the rotation.

Wrobleski gave up six hits and three walks. The unearned run was his own fault, as he threw the ball into right field on Ryan Waldschmidt’s sac bunt in the second. Wrobleski, who overtook his previous career high for innings today, has allowed 15 earned runs and nine homers over 13 2/3 innings in his last three starts, taking his ERA from 2.62 to 3.44. Velocity hasn’t been an issue, but the Dodgers won’t just live with these results forever. If he’s not better against the Brewers next weekend, he might be looking at a role change or a demotion to Triple-A.

Wrobleski has turned into a pumpkin since the All-Star break, allowing eight home runs across 16 2/3 innings, which has caused his ERA to balloon from 2.69 to 3.31 in the process. He allowed four round-trippers in this outing while striking out four and also issuing three walks. He’ll attempt to right the metaphorical ship when he faces the Diamondbacks on Sunday to wrap up a two-start week. The “unbeatable” Dodgers have suddenly lost a season-high four straight games, which sets quite a stage for Tarik Skubal’s impending debut at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.

Wrobleski was hurt by the long ball on Tuesday. He surrendered a solo homer to Cal Raleigh in the second inning. Julio Rodríguez added a solo homer in the fourth, followed by a two-run shot by Rob Refsnyder. Dominic Canzone later got to Wrobleski for a solo homer in the sixth. Still, he managed to collect seven strikeouts over six innings of work. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 2.88 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and an 87/21 K/BB ratio across 112 2/3 innings into a start against the Red Sox in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Wrobleski has turned in five quality starts and gone 5-0 in his last seven outings. He might wear down as he enters uncharted territory in terms of workload, but he’s just crushing it right now, and as much as his strikeout race has increased, there’s no writing it off as a fluke. He’ll face the Mariners next week.

Wrobleski was among the most prominent snubs for the Midsummer Classic. He winds up earning a well-deserved ticket to Philadelphia as a replacement for Reds flame-thrower Chase Burns, who will not pitch in the Midsummer Classic. The 25-year-old southpaw made a real statement in his final first-half outing, piling up nine strikeouts and allowing one run over seven innings against the Rockies earlier this week. He holds a sparkling 2.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 73/20 K/BB ratio across 100 1/3 innings of work.

Wrobleski held the Rockies scoreless over five innings before Colorado brought a run in to score on two hits and a groundout in the sixth. He gave the Dodgers one more scoreless frame, going seven innings while collecting nine strikeouts. His two-run lead would be blown by the bullpen, saddling Wrobleski with a no-decision. The 25-year-old left-hander will go into the All-Star break with a 2.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 73/20 K/BB ratio across 100 1/3 innings.

The A’s brought a run in to score on two hits in the first inning. He then held the A’s scoreless over five more frames until Colby Thomas took him deep for a two-run blast in the seventh. Wrobleski would finish out the inning and end his day with no walks and 11 strikeouts on 19 swinging strikes. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 2.81 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 64/18 K/BB ratio across 93 innings into a start against the Rockies in Los Angeles next Tuesday.

Wrobleski was again over 95 mph on average with his fastball tonight. He’s come in at 95.2-95.4 mph in all four of his starts in June. Prior to this month, he’d averaged 93.8 mph with his fastball and never topped 95 mph in any of his starts. The extra velocity hasn’t led to a big spike in his strikeout rate, but he has pitched well in three of his four outings during the stretch. There was reason to doubt his early season success, but his stock has definitely climbed some. That said, don’t be too surprised if he has a setback in a tough ballpark in Sacramento next week.

Wrobleski was outstanding on Tuesday, keeping the Rays off the board over six frames. He allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter, tossing an efficient 50-of-67 pitches for strikes and collecting five strikeouts. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 2.72 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 50/16 K/BB ratio across 79 1/3 innings into a start against the Twins in Minnesota next Tuesday.