Why Matt Sauer endured late-inning damage as Los Angeles Dodgers pitching injuries pile up in 11-1 loss to New York Yankees

Matt Sauer was the sacrificial lamb in the growing pitching crisis of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he took a horror 11-1 drubbing at the hands of the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park.

The 26-year-old minor league call-up was forced to throw 111 pitches over 4 2/3 innings, allowing 13 hits and nine earned runs as manager Dave Roberts essentially threw in the towel to save his beleaguered bullpen. Having a combined 14 pitchers with over 100 million dollars on the injured list, the defending World Series champions are in a roster management nightmare that has seen them have to sacrifice a winnable division rivalry game.

Matt Sauer takes unprecedented workload in losing effort

Matt Sauer's fourth major league call-up this season turned into a nightmare scenario as the right-hander faced 30 batters while the San Diego Padres' loaded lineup feasted on his offerings. The minor league veteran, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a non-roster contract last winter, understood his role as an innings-eater but struggled with command throughout his extended outing.Allowing Matt Sauer to take punishment instead of burning high-leverage relievers was a strategic choice that highlighted just how bleak the situation in the pitching department of the Los Angeles Dodgers is in June 2025.

Roberts admitted after the game that his team had essentially thrown in the towel on the game after they found themselves down 3-0 in the third inning, focusing instead on the remaining games in the three-game series rather than Tuesday night's drinking water loss.

The situation became so desperate that utility player Enrique "Kiké" Hernández took the mound for the final 2⅓ innings, throwing 36 pitches with none exceeding 57 mph.

Hernández allowed three hits and one earned run, providing comic relief in what had become a foregone conclusion.

Los Angeles Dodgers rotation decimated by unprecedented injury crisis

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, who is 37 years old, and Dustin May are the only three dependable starters that the Los Angeles Dodgers have at the moment. The injured list is an All-Star list including Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Gavin Stone. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is still being careful in his comeback to the mound following his recent elbow operation.Dave Roberts justified his move of allowing Matt Sauer to take the damage and discussed the strategy behind the move in terms of the series. All you have to do is see what our bullpen situation is, and enjoy what we have the next couple of days, Roberts said. I thought it was simply not smart to chase and red-line guys.On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers had employed four high-leverage relievers in five innings of an 8-7 extra-inning win over the San Diego Padres, so the bullpen was taxed behind opener Lou Trivino, who pitched one scoreless inning Tuesday before things fell apart.The series finale between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres can be seen on Wednesday at 7:10 PM PT on Fox Sports West as Justin Wrobleski tries to help the injury-plagued champs salvage the series.Also Read: Yankees give big update on Giancarlo Stanton after injury kept him out all seasonThe Los Angeles Dodgers' ability to navigate this unprecedented injury crisis will define their 2025 championship defense, as Matt Sauer's sacrifice highlighted the extreme measures necessary to keep their season alive amid a roster management nightmare that has no easy solutions.