Despite ups and downs, Miller crucial to LA's playoff plans

WASHINGTON -- A little over a month ago, it was unclear what role, if any, Bobby Miller was going to have for the Dodgers in October. The hard-throwing right-hander is one of the best young pitchers in the game, but he had his fair share of struggles earlier in the season.

Fast forward to now, and Miller has certainly earned a spot in the starting rotation for the postseason. His role continues to grow, in part because of his performance and also because of the uncertainty surrounding Los Angeles’ rotation.

In the Dodgers’ rain-delayed 7-6 loss to the Nationals in 11 innings on Saturday night at Nationals Park, Miller showed exactly why the club is looking forward to seeing him on the big stage and also some of the natural concerns that come with having a rookie handle large responsibilities.

• Games remaining: at WAS (1), vs. SD (3), at SEA (3), vs. DET (3), vs. SF (4), at COL (4), at SF (3)
• Standings update: The Dodgers (86-55) lead the D-backs (75-68) by 12 games in the National League West, but they trail the Braves (92-49) by six games for the No. 1 seed in the National League.
• Magic number to clinch NL West: 8

The good
Naturally, the Dodgers were initially careful with Miller’s workload given the right shoulder injury that held him out of Spring Training. The right-hander also probably made his debut this year prematurely given the injuries to the rest of the rotation.

But over his past two starts, the responsibility to not only be effective but also eat up innings has been one that Miller has taken to heart. On Saturday, Miller got through seven innings for the second consecutive start, matching his career high.

"I thought it was good,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Obviously, the end result, he left a breaking ball up and close and it ended up being hit for a homer, which was a big hit. I thought up until that point he was efficient. He was pounding the strike zone. Got a lot of strikeouts.”

In many ways, the Dodgers continue to get a look at a young player growing right in front of their eyes. After dealing with some small command issues to start his outing, Miller was able to settle down in the middle innings and record a career-high eight strikeouts. His fastball velocity was up to his standards, and his breaking pitches were all problems for the Nationals’ lineup.

“Seven innings was good,” Miller said. “I always preach that -- going really far in the game to help the bullpen out. Unfortunately, it was extra innings. But if I didn’t make that one bad pitch, the slider, I think we win the game.”

The bad
As Miller said, he made a pair of costly mistakes -- the type that could ultimately decide a game in October. In the seventh, as he faced an opposing order a fourth time for the first time in his career, Miller allowed a two-run homer to Lane Thomas to give the Nationals a 5-2 lead.

In the fifth, Miller appeared to be frustrated as the frame unfolded. The 24-year-old has talked in the past about calming his emotions, and he has done a better job of that, which has helped his recent success. But that inning against Washington, a leadoff walk to Ildemaro Vargas led to the Nationals putting together a two-run frame.

“Just managing my emotions is something I’ve been working on all year,” Miller said. “I feel like I’ve been getting better at it. I was executing a lot throughout the game. There was a lot of good, but I think the bad outweighed the good.”

Miller’s role
With Clayton Kershaw and Lance Lynn struggling recently and Julio Urías on paid administrative leave, Miller is suddenly a very important piece of the puzzle for Los Angeles.

How much the club leans on the rookie could be determined by how he performs over the last three weeks of the regular season. But given where the Dodgers are, he might be their best option as they map out October.

“It's hard to simulate what he's going to be going through,” Roberts said. “So as best we can do, if we're not going to put him in harm's way, then I think it's a good thing. These are good experiences, opportunities for him to kind of see how he responds.”