Knack, Sauer spell Dodgers' bullpen as Phillips (forearm) hits IL

MIAMI -- The Dodgers' bullpen has shouldered a heavy workload through the first month and change, and the group lost one of its in-season reinforcements when right-hander Evan Phillips was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm discomfort in the early innings of Wednesday's 10-1 win at loanDepot park.

Phillips began the season on the IL and was activated on April 19 after completing his rehab from the right rotator cuff strain that also kept him off last year's World Series roster. He appeared in seven of the team's 14 games since then, not allowing a run across 5 2/3 innings.

The veteran righty hasn't been recovering in between outings as well as he would have liked, but he noted that he doesn't feel any discomfort when he's pitching. As a result, both Phillips and manager Dave Roberts view the move as precautionary, with the expectation that he will be back once his 15 days are up.

"I always felt good when I pitched, so that's kind of where my disappointment comes in," Phillips said. "I do feel like I can still contribute, but I think what it comes down to is we don't want to mess around with something in early May. We don't really have the luxury of giving me a couple days off here to figure it out. So we decided best to just be cautious with it."

Phillips is the latest in a wave of early-season pitching injuries for the Dodgers, who have only four healthy starting pitchers in traditional roles -- not counting spot starter Landon Knack in the series finale in Miami -- and is midway through a stretch of 10 games in as many days.

To account for the injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in the rotation, L.A. has plugged in some bullpen games, contributing to the team's Major League-high 161 relief innings. Four Dodgers arms -- Kirby Yates, Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott and Luis García -- appeared in at least half of the team's first 36 games.

But the Dodgers managed to reset their bullpen ahead of the final leg of their three-city road trip thanks to a strong combined performance from Knack and righty Matt Sauer, who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Phillips' spot on the roster.

Knack was sharp across five-plus scoreless innings, and Sauer held the Marlins to one unearned run across the final four to save the bullpen before the Dodgers' first divisional matchup of the season, a four-game set vs. the D-backs.

"Landon was fantastic," Roberts said. "Coming here a day ago and getting ready to pitch and appreciating what we were up against, and to be efficient, go out there and keep us in the ballgame, throw the baseball really well. Then to be able to hand it off to Sauer and do what he always does, fill up the strike zone, keep the pace of play.

"To use those two guys today, considering where we were at, [we] feel a lot different than we did last night. The 'pen is reset, and getting ready for Arizona."

Sauer reprised the role he played last week, when he made a five-inning relief outing -- also against the Marlins -- that earned him his first Major League win. This time, he was credited with his first big league save after entering in the sixth and immediately inducing a double play to wipe out two inherited runners from Knack.

"I appreciated him coming in with runners first and second, no outs and getting out of that without anybody scoring," Knack said. "Obviously, he’s a dog, being able to come in and do that after a late night, early morning. Being able to fly in and do that was pretty awesome."

The Dodgers' bullpen calculus was looking complicated heading into Wednesday. Several high-leverage arms were unavailable, even before Phillips' IL placement threw another variable into the equation.

But Knack and Sauer took care of business, and another big offensive output against the Marlins -- led by Freddie Freeman's four-RBI day -- erased the possibility of a leverage situation late in the game.

With the way that everything worked out, even Roberts wouldn't have expected the bullpen to be in such an improved place when the team departed Miami for Arizona.

"This was the perfect outcome for us," Roberts said. "Obviously, Knack was going to go as long as he can. Then just to be able to use Sauer. … This is the 100th [percentile] outcome."