LOS ANGELES — Justin Wrobleski didn’t duck the moment. After a night that flipped in the time it takes to refresh a box score, the rookie reliever stood at his locker and owned a sixth inning that spiraled from clean handoff to five runs in a blink. He started with the basics: sequencing, misses, and one slider that stayed up.
“Um I don’t know. I mean, I got behind, you know, a couple times there, but um you know, felt like I filled the zone, which is always what I’m trying to do,” Wrobleski said, searching for the thin line between aggression and precision. “And um had a couple singles get through and whatever. And then obviously the homer I think was was the the worst pitch of the day. Um just left the slider up there when it probably needs to be buried or off the dish cuz he had just swung it one that was off.”
That swing turned a four-run Dodgers lead into a deficit, erasing five hitless innings from Shohei Ohtani and detonating the stadium vibe in seconds. Wrobleski didn’t pretend there was mystery in it; he’d seen the same thing everyone else had—traffic, a mistake, and a lineup that pounced. The fix, he said, lives in game planning and execution the next time he sees them. “Um go back and look at it and um you know going to face these guys again. So um just continue to kind of figure out that chess match with what they’re looking for and kind of yeah whatever their plan was today obviously worked.”
Zooming out to the state of the bullpen, the 26-year-old didn’t sugarcoat the frustration of a veteran-heavy unit wearing too many late-inning losses. “Yeah, it sucks. I mean, obviously you don’t want to go out there and, you know, obviously give up these runs and whatever,” he said. “But um I think to your point, um a lot of these guys have been there, done it before, and um we all have confidence in each other no matter how it’s going. And I think, you know, during times like this, yeah, it sucks, but I think there’s a lot to be learned um from this, you know, whatever this poor run that we’re having, and I think we’re going to be better for it in the long run.”
There was an added wrinkle Tuesday: stepping in after Ohtani had no-hit the Phillies through five. That changes the temperature in the park, but Wrobleski insisted it doesn’t change his job. “I mean, I I I don’t really look at things like that. Um my job is to go in there and get outs,” he said. “um you know whether it’s a no hitter or not, my my goal is always the same to go out there and and you know, get the guy that I’m facing and just take it a hitter at a time, a pitch at a time. And yeah, unfortunately tonight it didn’t go my way, but show hey obviously pitch pitch great, hit great as always.”
If he heard the crowd reaction shift as the inning unraveled, he didn’t let on. “Um it it is what it is. Um you know, I didn’t throw the ball well. Um, I don’t think, um, I’m not really always too concerned with with what’s happening crowd-wise and everything else,” he said. “Um, my job is to go out there and put up zeros and I did not do that today. So, yeah, it sucks, but, you know, it’s all life’s about how you handle adversity, and I’ve dealt with a lot of that. So, I I know what I need to do, and I know that, you know, being better is the bottom line, and I know I can do it.”
As for the inevitable question—do the relievers talk about backing up a rotation that’s been dealing?—Wrobleski kept the answer straightforward. “I mean, our goal is to go out there and get outs and and win games,” he said. “Um I obviously it’s frustrating to go out there and not um get the job done. Um but yeah, there’s, you know, we just want to go out there and and put up zeros and unfortunately recently it hasn’t been going our way, but that’s it’s part of the game.”
The Dodgers don’t need speeches right now; they need zeros. But there’s value in hearing a young arm process the wreckage in real time—what missed, why it missed, and how he plans to adjust. The blueprint he sketched was simple enough: get ahead, finish off with better shapes and better edges, and bury the slider when the scouting report says bury it. The subtext was just as important: don’t let the weight of the moment—Ohtani’s brilliance, the crowd, the standings—pull you out of your plan.
There’s no moral victory when a five-run sixth buries a winnable game, and Wrobleski didn’t ask for one. He asked for accountability and a chance to fix it the next time. “Going to face these guys again,” he said, almost to himself. “Figure out that chess match.”
That’s the assignment now—for him and for a bullpen that has to turn September chaos into October confidence, one executed pitch at a time.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
