Piñata of a bullpen may smash title hopes

Shortcomings were concealed in earlier rounds, but it’s time to pay the piper

- DYLAN HERNANDEZ COLUMNIST

ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times RELIEVER Edgardo Henriquez walks toward the dugout after failing to record an out in Game 5.

Was Edgardo Henriquez the best option to pitch to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the seventh inning with two outs and runners on the corners? Maybe, maybe not.

And that was the problem.

The problem was that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't have a choice that was clearly better than to place the game in the hands of a hard-throwing but unreliable 23-year-old rookie.

Henriquez walked Guerrero on a 99.9-mph fastball that sailed into the opposite batter's box, evading the grasp of catcher Will Smith and allowing Addison Barger to score.

A manageable two-run deficit was now three and about to become four.

The Dodgers were on their way to a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night, the Game 5 result placing them at a three-games-to-two deficit in this World Series.

For Roberts, that seventh inning didn't represent a manager's nightmare. That was a manager's night terror.