ANAHEIM — Given what he confirmed as a rookie final yr, Bobby Miller got here into 2024 as a key a part of the Dodgers’ beginning rotation. The previous prime prospect was anticipated to take one more leap ahead in his improvement.
As an alternative, it’s been a disappointing sophomore season for Miller, one which has included accidents, an entire lot of inconsistencies and a stint within the Minor Leagues as he labored by way of his mechanics.
The season didn’t get any higher for Miller on Wednesday because the right-hander allowed seven runs on 5 hits over 5 innings within the Dodgers’ 10-1 loss to the Angels to wrap up the two-game Freeway Sequence at Angel Stadium.
“I believe the place we’re at proper now with sure gamers — Bobby, on this explicit case — efficiency issues,” mentioned Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “It’s bought to be higher. And he is aware of that. You simply can’t go on the market and quit 5 runs and put us behind the eight-ball.”
It didn’t take lengthy for it to develop into clear Miller didn’t have his finest stuff. He walked Taylor Ward to start out his outing and adopted it up by hitting Zach Neto. Anthony Rendon hit a two-run single to start out the scoring.
Two batters later, Mickey Moniak delivered the large hit, smashing a three-run homer to offer the Angels a 5-0 lead. At that time, Miller nonetheless hadn’t recorded an out. The lengthy ball continued to be an issue for Miller, who allowed two extra solo homers later within the recreation.
“It’s not in regards to the stuff, as a result of as we’ve seen, the stuff is there,” Roberts mentioned. “I say it time and time once more, it’s about efficiency. You’ve bought to carry out and provides us an opportunity.”
It’s the fourth time in 11 begins this season that Miller has given up 5 or extra runs in a recreation. The large inning has been a difficulty, one thing he was in a position to handle throughout his robust rookie season.
“It’s sort of onerous to place into phrases, however lately, I’ve been feeling actually good and nonetheless felt actually good immediately,” Miller mentioned. “Apart from the primary inning, there was quite a lot of good in there. Only a couple good fastball hitters, couple unhealthy pitch picks. I may return and look and be like, ‘Yeah, I threw these balls on the nook.’ However you recognize, there’s some good fastball hitters, and I simply threw the mistaken pitch on the mistaken time, they usually put some good swings on some not-really-bad pitches.”
Whereas Miller maintains that he’s been feeling higher as of late, the schedule is beginning to run out on him. With the Dodgers desperately in search of a pair of starters to step up earlier than the beginning of the postseason, Miller has been attempting to point out Los Angeles that he can get again to the shape that helped him take the ball in Recreation 2 of the Nationwide League Division Sequence final October.
Miller will stay within the rotation by way of a minimum of yet one more flip, giving him one other alternative subsequent week towards the Cubs. But when he desires to make an affect in October, it has to look rather a lot higher than it did towards the Angels.
“It’s a must to, as a beginning pitcher, be capable of get forward with totally different secondary pitches,” Roberts mentioned. “Except you may have 80 command, and proper now, he doesn’t. It’s a fastball that hitters see, so it both needs to be commanded very well and moved to totally different areas, or you may have to have the ability to get forward with totally different breaking balls. That’s simply the way in which it goes. And in the event you can’t do this, then the catcher is in a troublesome spot. We have now to get higher.”
