PHOENIX -- “Sometimes the past just catches up to you, whether you want it to or not.” -- Paul Edgecomb, as portrayed by Tom Hanks in "The Green Mile."

It caught up to the Dodgers on Sunday.

Despite losing Clayton Kershaw after only one-plus inning in Friday’s opener, the Dodgers pulled out all the stops and won back-to-back slugfests to begin the four-game series against the D-backs. But those wins came at the cost of a suddenly overworked bullpen, which wasn’t in a position to step up when rookie lefty Justin Wrobleski got taken to task by the D-backs on Sunday at Chase Field.

Wrobleski turned in a scoreless first inning, but the D-backs knocked him around in a seven-hit, eight-run second and rolled to a 14-3 victory, narrowing the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West back to five games.

Though he had to wear it during a rough day, the Dodgers’ No. 6 prospect did give manager Dave Roberts some needed length. Wrobleski threw a career-high 99 pitches, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings.

“I’m sensitive to guys’ performance and not [having them stay] out there and essentially wearing it, but where we’re at -- in a playoff race, giving us our best chance going forward -- it was the only option,” Roberts said. “And to Justin’s credit, he hung in there and got us into the sixth inning.”

Wrobleski was glad he had the chance to stay in and help out the bullpen after the rough second inning.

“That’s where you show people what you’re made of,” Wrobleski said. “I tried to grit my teeth and get through as many as I could. I would have loved to get through six [innings] there and save the ‘pen a little bit more.”

The Dodgers only have four healthy starters in Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone, but Roberts said Wrobleski will be optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma on Monday so the Dodgers can reinforce the bullpen with a fresh arm.

The Dodgers are off on Thursday, so they may not need a fifth starter next week, but that would require Buehler working on four days’ rest, which he has yet to do in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. It is more likely L.A. calls up another starter from Triple-A for one of the games against the Guardians next weekend. That would almost certainly be Landon Knack, who has a 3.00 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts) for the big league club this season.

Roberts wasn’t sure exactly what the plan for next week will be just yet, but it is certain he will have to keep piecing together this rotation for a while.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (right triceps tightness) will make a rehab start on Tuesday, but that’s expected to be for three innings, and he’ll need at least one more outing to stretch out before returning. Kershaw (bone spur in left big toe) won’t be eligible to return until Sept. 15, which is also the best-case scenario for Tyler Glasnow (right elbow tendinitis), who hasn’t returned to throwing off a mound yet in his rehab.

“We got put in a tough spot today, then you’re just trying to salvage pitching, obviously the bullpen specifically,” Roberts said. “I think the positive is we’re back to full strength tomorrow with a chance to win the series.”

The Dodgers’ bullpen is loaded, and it will help pick up the slack, but it is currently without Brusdar Graterol (right hamstring strain) and Joe Kelly (right shoulder inflammation). Graterol will make his first rehab appearance on Tuesday and could return as soon as Friday, while Kelly won’t be eligible to return until Sept. 15.

Roberts still has plenty of back-end options to use in Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech, he just needs the rotation to cover its innings so the bullpen as a whole doesn’t have to shoulder too big of a load.

Flaherty will look to do his part when the Dodgers go for a series win in Monday’s finale.