Brock Stewart slumped in front of a mostly empty locker in the middle of the Dodgers clubhouse Monday afternoon, a stall that used to belong to pitcher Dustin May, as clubhouse attendants rushed over with boxes of brand new size 13 cleats.
A week ago Stewart was pitching for the Minnesota Twins, who wear red cleats. The Dodgers don’t, so Stewart needed a makeover.
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“I got blue gloves coming too,” he said.
Getting dressed properly isn’t the only thing players have to worry about when they change teams in the middle of the season. Stewart had a home and family in Minnesota to pack up and move when he learned Thursday that he had been traded from a team with a losing record to one chasing a second straight World Series title.
Read more: ‘They’ve got to perform better.’ Three Dodger stars who need to heat up at the plate
By late Monday night, Stewart found himself in the middle of that pennant race when he took the mound in the ninth inning of a tie game. It didn’t end well, with Stewart (2-2) surrendering a run on three hits while getting just two outs in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
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It was a rude homecoming for the right-hander, who was drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 but waived five years later after pitching 36 times over parts of four seasons. After he remade himself during a six-year sojourn in which dropped down to independent ball, Stewart was brought back to Los Angeles to stabilize an overworked, injury-plagued bullpen that has struggled.
In his first appearance at Dodger Stadium in the home uniform since 2019, he added to those struggles, giving up hits to the first two batters he faced, then falling behind 2-0 to pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo, who flared a single over the infield to drive in the go-ahead run.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches from the dugout during a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals on Monday. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
For manager Dave Roberts, one bad outing won’t change Stewart’s role.
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“That’s baseball,” he said.
“He’s a high-leverage guy,” Roberts added. “He was certainly needed for our ballclub and I will use him as such.”
Stewart certainly wasn’t the only reliever who struggled, with both bullpens wasting excellent efforts by starters Tyler Glasnow and Sonny Gray.
Glasnow gave the Dodgers (65-48) seven strong innings for the second time in three starts, conceding a run on three hits — none after the second inning — while striking out seven. Gray was even better in his seven innings, giving up just a fourth-inning solo home run to Freddie Freeman and a second-inning walk to Max Muncy before leaving with the score tied 1-1.
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Anthony Banda was the first man out of a Dodger bullpen that has pitched more innings than any in baseball. Three batters later the Cardinals (57-57) went ahead on Iván Herrera’s home run to center.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers during a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning on a double to Teoscar Hernández.
So with the score even again, Roberts called on Stewart, who has had a whirlwind week. Five days ago he was on his way to Cleveland with the Twins when he got a call to fly to Tampa, Fla., to join the Dodgers instead. That left his wife Christina to pack up the couple’s house, their sons, 3-year-old Jett and 16-month-old Cal, and their hound-mix puppy and move to Los Angeles.
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“My wife is just wearing the brunt of it,” he said. “That’s maybe what people don’t understand.”
Roberts, who played in five cities in his career, said the challenge of changing teams can go beyond finding the right color glove and cleats. But the transition was easier for Stewart since he broke in with the Dodgers.
“He’s familiar with some of the players, most of the coaching staff, the city itself, the ballpark,” he said. “Things like that are part of his past routine.”
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hits a solo home in the fourth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals on Monday. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Stewart, arguably the biggest acquisition the Dodgers made at the trade deadline, had been in Los Angeles less than a day when he got to the ballpark Monday. He agreed he didn’t have much time to get acclimated, though he said he may need some time to find his way around the clubhouse, which underwent a $100-million renovation last winter.
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As for his job, he said the Dodgers had made that clear.
“Andrew [Friedman] and [Brandon] Gomes just told me don’t try to change anything. Just do what you’ve been doing and that’ll be good enough,” he said, referencing the team’s president of baseball operations and general manager, respectively.
It wasn’t good enough Monday. But, Roberts said afterward, there’s still a lot more games to be played.
“Brock,” he said, “will get the baseball a lot.”
Read more: Dodgers manufacture enough offense to slip past Tampa Bay Rays
Sasaki set to throw
Right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to throw the equivalent of three innings to hitters Friday and if that goes well, he could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He has not pitched in nearly three months after going on the IL with a shoulder impingement.
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Edman goes on injured list
Utilityman Hyeseong Kim, out since July 29 with a shoulder issue, is swinging a bat and taking grounders. Roberts is optimistic Kim will be able to return soon. But another utility player, Tommy Edman, went on the IL with an ankle injury. With Kim, Edman and Kiké Hernández, another utility player, all out with injuries, Roberts has not had the usual versatility he has enjoyed in fielding a lineup.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
