LOS ANGELES -- Looking to improve your bullpen? Adding one of the top relievers in baseball should help.

That’s essentially what the Dodgers did when they activated Evan Phillips from the injured list on Friday after he’d missed nearly a month due to a right hamstring strain. And on Saturday night, the right-hander made his way back into Major League game action, recording the save in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win over the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

“It felt great,” said Phillips. “I’m not going to lie, it was a very frustrating injury to fight through, something like a freak accident like that. So very fortunate the rehab was relatively quick and easy, and just super glad to be back out here competing and helping us win games.”

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Because the injury was to his leg, Phillips was able to keep his arm moving throughout his time on the IL, and it took just two scoreless rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga before he was ready to return. He added another zero to his register by working a perfect ninth inning on Saturday, striking out one and getting a couple of soft groundouts.

“I started throwing the minute they let me, just trying to maintain all those feels and keep that groove that I was in going,” said Phillips. “So I feel like we did a pretty good job with that. It took a lot of extra effort. Trying to match the adrenaline of a Major League game is basically impossible. So just trying to do everything I could to stay in that groove that I was in. And fortunately, I think we did a pretty good job of that.”

Over the past two seasons, Phillips hasn’t just been one of L.A.’s most reliable bullpen arms -- he’s arguably been the best in the game. With an arsenal headlined by a nasty sweeper, his 1.59 ERA and 266 ERA+ from 2022-23 ranked best among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched in that span. He’d picked up where he left off heading into 2024, posting a 0.66 ERA in 14 games prior to his IL stint.

Losing Phillips was clearly a tough break for the Dodgers, especially given that they’re down an additional three high-leverage relievers in Brusdar Graterol, Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier, none of whom are set to come back any time soon. But even in Phillips’ absence, the Dodgers’ relief corps was among MLB’s most successful. In the time he was on the IL, L.A. was fourth in the Majors with a 2.70 bullpen ERA, thanks to a number of hurlers stepping up.

There’s Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen, who pitched between starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Phillips. Hudson, who picked up a couple of saves while Phillips was out, continued his strong season with a clean seventh inning. Treinen pitched his way out of a jam in the eighth and has yet to allow a run this season while collecting 13 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. This is on the heels of him missing most of 2022, all of ’23 and the start of ’24 while battling a plethora of injuries.

“To go Hudson, Treinen, Evan was pretty exciting for me,” said manager Dave Roberts.

Besides them, other standouts have included Alex Vesia, who has rebounded from a 4.35 ERA in 2023 with a 1.40 ERA through 24 games. Anthony Banda, acquired from the Guardians for cash on May 17, is off to a near-flawless start with L.A., having yet to allow a run through six games. Ryan Yarbrough has been very dependable as a long man, regularly allowing Roberts to preserve his other relievers.

But there’s no doubt that having Phillips back in the fold only strengthens the unit.

“Now we know every time we’ve got the lead in the ninth inning, it’s close to 100 percent that we're going to win the game,” said Teoscar Hernández.

Amiable and with a friendly smile, Phillips isn’t necessarily the firebrand that one envisions a Major League closer. But as Phillips and the Dodgers see things, his abilities to keep things low-key and to stay even-keeled are driving forces behind his effectiveness.

“He doesn’t, I guess, look like your prototypical closer that’s got the scruffy beard,” said Roberts. “But it comes down to making pitches, having a good heartbeat. The moment doesn’t get too big for him. So for me, I just feel so good, when the game is on the line, that he has the ball.”