Shohei Ohtani hits another home run as the Dodgers fail to complete a sweep against the Blue Jays due to a late-game pitching collapse.

When the Dodgers held a narrow lead in the late innings, who could manager Dave Roberts trust to secure the game? This answer has often been elusive this year.

The Dodgers constructed a bullpen that has drawn admiration from across the league during the offseason, but several key relievers have missed significant time due to injuries. With most of the injured pitchers expected to return by the end of the season, the team opted not to acquire a true closer before the July 31 trade deadline.

In today’s series finale against the Blue Jays, the Dodgers called upon two top-tier late-game relievers during critical moments in the latter half of the game, but neither managed to pitch a clean inning. Blake Treinen allowed two runs in the eighth, and Alex Vesia surrendered a game-winning home run in the ninth, resulting in a 5-4 loss and preventing a sweep.

“I just felt like we shouldn’t have lost this game today,” Roberts said. “We got a great pitching performance from Tyler Glasnow. They used up all their bullpen guys. We had several opportunities to put them in a tough spot. Not winning today is really frustrating.”

With Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Michael Kopech all on the injured list (expected to return by the end of August), Treinen and Vesia are currently the Dodgers' top choices for critical late-game situations. However, Treinen has struggled since returning from the injured list, and Vesia has taken losses in his last two outings, which is a slight blemish on an otherwise stellar season.

The team has relied on Treinen to help stabilize the late-game situation, as he missed over three months due to a right forearm strain. However, he failed to protect a one-run lead, giving up back-to-back home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger.

“Sometimes you can get away with throwing bad pitches and still get outs,” Treinen said. “But they made me pay, and that cost us the game.”

In five games since returning from the injured list, Treinen has allowed three runs in 3.2 innings, giving up eight hits and issuing four walks. Walks have always been a sore spot for him, but aside from Sunday’s game, he generally feels his pitching execution has been satisfactory.

Since his return, Treinen has only pitched in the eighth and ninth innings, but nearly every appearance has come under pressure, except for a scoreless inning two days ago. While having a breather in lower-pressure situations may be beneficial, he remains the first choice for late-game scenarios.

“He’s the key guy. But we have other options as well,” Roberts said. “You have to weigh the different choices, see who pitched before, and make a decision. … But we definitely need him to perform well, that’s for sure.”

Vesia came in during the top of the ninth but allowed a go-ahead home run on his first pitch to Ernie Clement. Vesia has been the most reliable late-game reliever for the Dodgers this season, but he also faced defeat in his previous outing, giving up two runs (one unearned) against the Cardinals on Thursday.

“I threw a slider that was low, but somehow he hit it,” Vesia said. “Other than that, I felt pretty good. Just threw a bad pitch.”

What’s more frustrating is that the Dodgers put themselves in great positions to rally after trailing twice. They tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth with a bases-loaded walk from Freddie Freeman, but pinch-hitter Michael Conforto hit a pop-up that was caught by the catcher, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers created a bases-loaded situation with one out, and Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate. He had already contributed a crucial hit earlier in the game, a home run in his first at-bat, marking his 41st home run of the season. However, he ultimately struck out, and Mookie Betts grounded into a game-ending out.

The Dodgers received seven walks in the final two innings, five of which came against Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman. However, they failed to deliver the crucial hits, leaving a season-high 16 runners on base.

Despite this, Vesia still believes the efforts made on offense should have been enough to secure a victory and wrap up the home series.

“We take a lot of pride in our bullpen,” Vesia said, “so it feels terrible not to get the job done today.”