Dodgers Recap: The Dogs Return in Thrilling Win in Seattle

SEATTLE — If last night was Emmet Sheehan’s tune-up for October, tonight was Tyler Glasnow’s turn to treat a pennant-race Saturday like a dry run for next week. The big right-hander faced 13 Mariners across three crisp, scoreless innings and then handed the night to the “dogs”—the nickname the Dodger bullpen earned in the 2024 postseason for snarling through high-leverage spots. The group lived up to its reputation and then some, striking out every Seattle hitter in the final three frames to lock down a 5–3 win at T-Mobile Park and, yes, set a new Dodger record for consecutive strikeouts by a team to end a game. September date. October energy.

Glasnow’s line won’t be the story tomorrow, but it mattered tonight: 3.0 IP, three hits, no runs, a walk, and three strikeouts on just 36 pitches (22 strikes). The goal wasn’t volume; it was rhythm. He worked the top of the zone with carry and mixed in the slider early, keeping the Mariners off-barrel while testing the tempo he’ll carry into next week. Even when Julio Rodríguez swiped second and third in the first inning, Glasnow stayed composed and earned a quiet lineout to strand the threat. Mission accomplished—get in, get sharp, get out.

The middle belonged to a familiar face in a new assignment. Andrew Heaney, who posted a strong 2022 with the Dodgers before his travels around the league began, was brought back to do something simple and essential: eat innings. He did, covering the fourth and fifth and wearing one big swing in the process. After Dalton Rushing put Los Angeles up 2–0 with a two-out rocket to right in the fifth—a grown-man swing that followed Miguel Rojas’ ringing double—Heaney got clipped by Jorge Polanco for a three-run shot in the bottom half. That flip of the scoreboard turned 2–0 into 2–3 and could’ve tilted the night, but the Dodgers refused to let it snowball. Heaney exited after the fifth, job basically done: protect the rotation, keep the rest of the staff lined up, and take a couple of punches if needed so others didn’t have to.

Jack Dreyer steadied things with a clean sixth, capped by a strikeout, which nudged the momentum door open just enough for the lineup to shoulder its way back in. In the seventh, Michael Conforto dunked a leadoff single to left, Enrique Hernández followed later with a liner to right, and then the baseball gods added their fingerprint: a wild pitch that kicked away and brought Conforto home to tie it, 3–3. Not glamorous, but in October-style games, one bounce is often the hinge.

Then came the stretch that will echo. Blake Treinen—after a September that has tested both his command and his nerves—took the seventh like a man on a mission. He deserved a strike three to start the inning, didn’t get it, and watched Randy Arozarena spoil the at-bat into a single. No matter. Treinen snapped off three consecutive punchouts: Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Jorge Polanco. The cutter had late life, the slider bit, and the body language said, “we’re not done here.” That’s the Treinen the Dodgers know can change series.

Alex Vesia matched the tone in the eighth and raised it, carving through Eugenio Suárez, Dominic Canzone, and Luke Raley—three up, three down, all on strikes. By this point, the Mariners weren’t making adjustments; they were guessing. The Dodger pen was dictating every swing decision.

Of course, a night like this needed a hit with personality, and that’s where Kiké Hernández dusted off his October alter ego. In the ninth, with the game still tied and Seattle turning to wipeout closer Andrés Muñoz, Conforto and Alex Call worked back-to-back walks to apply the pressure. Rojas tried to lay a bunt down before he pushed them along with a soft roller to first, setting the table for Hernández. And then it was very much “Kiké being Kiké”: a two-run, go-ahead missile over Arozarena’s head in left. Hernández now has delivered big swings on back-to-back nights, the kind of October foreshadowing this club has leaned on in multiple postseason runs.

The ninth belonged to rookie fireballer Edgardo Henriquez, who needed just 12 pitches to punch out the side for his first save of the season. The final fastball? 102.5 mph, finishing Arozarena and slamming the door on a night the Mariners felt they were still in until they weren’t. Henriquez’s heater played at the letters, his breaking ball tunneled underneath, and the conviction never wavered. If you’re looking for “October weapons” beyond the headliners, circle this inning.

Step back and the game traces a clean October silhouette: a shortened start to keep the horse fresh; a trusted veteran tasked with bridging the middle no matter the turbulence; an offense that finds a long ball and then manufactures a run when the swing log jams; and, finally, a bullpen that doesn’t merely hold the line but attacks, stack-punching zeros with swing-and-miss stuff. The Dodgers struck out 15 Mariners, including every hitter they faced in the last three innings. That’s not just dominance—it’s a statement about stuff, sequencing, and the calm to execute it when the margin is one pitch.

Individually, there were plenty of positive breadcrumbs. Freddie Freeman reached twice and continues to look like himself in the box, seeing spin and refusing chase. Rojas’ defense mattered early—he took a hit away up the middle in the third—and his bat set up Rushing’s blast. Conforto found grass twice and scored the tying and go-ahead runs, the kind of under-the-radar October contributions that tilt a series. And Hernández, who can be streaky, appears to be sneaking into one of those hot pockets at exactly the right time.

But this, more than anything, was emotional oxygen for the bullpen. Treinen’s inning re-established trust. Vesia’s was authority. Henriquez’s was intimidation. When the Dodgers talk about shortening games in October, this is the visual: six outs from two lefty/righty looks that miss bats in different ways, then triple-digits to shatter hope. The dogs didn’t just bark; they howled.

The standings context only sweetens it. The Dodgers (92–69) handle their business against another division leader, while the wild-card picture behind them remains chaotic enough that whoever shows up at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday will have burned real bullets to get there. That’s not the Dodgers’ problem. Their job is to keep tuning the engine, stacking confidence, and deciding roles with performance, not résumé.

Tonight did that. Glasnow’s tune-up looked like a man packing his carry-on for October. Heaney ate the innings that needed eating. The offense proved it can find multiple gears—thump, grind, and clutch. And the bullpen reminded everyone why “dogs” stuck as more than a nickname. It’s an identity.

On nights like this, you can almost hear the calendar flip. And tomorrow, it will be a bittersweet end to the season. While the rest of the league tries to sort out its chaos, the Dodgers will give the ball to Clayton Kershaw one last time. The veteran lefty will make the final start of his legendary career on Sunday, and friends and family will be sure to be there to witness a little bit of history pass away. Clayton probably won’t go too deep. After all, he will have some sort of role on this pitching staff going forward into October. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to stay out there as long as he can, just to savor the dwindling moments of his Hall of Fame career.

I’ll be there at 12:10 PDT for first pitch. Let’s do this, and send the boys into October on a high like no other.

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