Heaney gives Dodgers postseason options

LOS ANGELES -- One of the considerations for the Dodgers in not making a move for a starting pitcher at the Trade Deadline was the fact that they were on the verge of getting some elite talent back from the injured list in Dustin May.

Don’t underestimate how big it was getting Andrew Heaney back, as well.

Heaney turned in a strong performance against the Brewers on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, hurling six innings of two-run ball in the Dodgers’ 12-6 win to secure the series victory. The left-hander struck out 10 batters for a second consecutive start against Milwaukee.

• Box score

“I think we've done a really nice job of progressively building him up and not too fast,” manager Dave Roberts said of Heaney. “... He's a big part of what we're trying to do here this year.”

Prior to the game, Roberts praised Heaney for his ability to throw strikes, miss bats and be efficient. Heaney did all three of those against the Brewers. Of his 91 pitches, 66 went for strikes, a rate of 72.5 percent. Heaney’s 20 whiffs -- 12 on his fastball, eight on his slider -- marked a season high for him.

“He's got so much deception, and that fastball seems to, like, rise,” said catcher Austin Barnes, who hit a two-run homer as part of a four-RBI night. “It's kind of a unique fastball. And he’s throwing his slider with a lot of confidence, getting them off the fastball speed.”

Part of the success with the fastball is due to an increase in velocity. Heaney came into Spring Training throwing around 87-88 mph. On Wednesday, his four-seamer averaged 92.9 mph and touched as high as 95.7. Much of that is due to the work Heaney has done with the team’s staff to add strength, which not only helps with improving velocity but in maintaining it throughout the game.

As Heaney continues to get stretched out, the Dodgers’ goal for him on Wednesday was to get him through five innings, something he hadn’t done in his first five starts since returning from the IL on July 27. Once he got to that point, at just 77 pitches, he was able to go out for the sixth, as well, making the second time Heaney’s gotten through a full six innings this year. The biggest blemish on his line was Willy Adames’ solo homer in the first; that came on the heels of Heaney allowing three home runs in his previous start.

“It’s feeling better, trying to get deeper into games, be a bit more pitch efficient,” said Heaney. “Just got to stay away from a couple of mistakes that I've made the last two outings that have cost me big time with the home run balls.”

With fewer travel days in the Division Series or Championship Series this year, the Dodgers likely will have a need for a five-man rotation in the postseason. As of now, the seeming locks for that are Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Should Clayton Kershaw be able to return from his back injury strong, he’ll be a lock as well.

That leaves Tyler Anderson -- who has certainly pitched well enough to merit a spot – and Heaney, who is also proving himself worthy, but has experience pitching in relief from his time with the Yankees last year.

“It’s part of the calculus,” Roberts said of Heaney’s bullpen experience. “There's a lot of thought that goes into putting the player in the best position to have success.”

While it won’t be a consideration for Heaney’s postseason role, there has been a trend of the Dodgers providing ample run support when he pitches, as they did again on Wednesday. Heaney entered the game with an average of 7.57 runs of support per game in his eight starts. His offense has never given him any fewer than three runs to work with, which they’ve done twice; in every other one of his starts, L.A.’s bats have put up at least seven runs.

“I think it just happens,” said Trea Turner, who had two hits, three walks and three runs scored. “There's always one guy that gets no run support and one guy that gets a lot of run support on every team. … Trust me -- I’m speaking for everybody, I think -- we'd love to score runs for everyone. But sometimes, it's just bad luck or whatever it is. But we're just competing out there, and I guess he's been the lucky one.”