Bullpen funk, offensive malaise continue for Dodgers

3:01 AM ET

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts’ first bullpen shakeup is coming — if he can just get everybody well rested and at full strength first.

Chris Hatcher was not the answer once again late in a tight ballgame, as Roberts went with what he had in the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres. A walk, a bad-luck single and a no-doubt-about-it three-run home run from the Padres’ Matt Kemp concluded yet another rough outing for Hatcher in a brutal April.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-1 defeat on Friday night to the Padres gave Hatcher his third loss already this season and an 8.44 ERA as hefty as the weight currently resting on his shoulders.

Roberts has tried to avoid overreacting early in his tenure as manager. So while others have pleaded for a change of roles in the bullpen, he has elected to give his players more rope in hopes they can rise to the level of past performances.

The ERA of Dodgers’ setup man Chris Hatcher climbed to 8.44 after he allowed a three-run homer to Matt Kemp in the eighth inning. Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports

In reality, Hatcher already has been slipping from his early-season perch as the setup man to closer Kenley Jansen. Hatcher’s high-profile opportunity Friday came because Pedro Baez had pitched 2 1/3 innings over the previous two games and Louis Coleman made three appearances in the recent four-game series against the Miami Marlins. Even Joe Blanton had pitched in four of five games, before getting a break Thursday.

“It’s actually not a role thing, it’s that Peety [Baez] was down and Kenley was going to pitch the ninth,” Roberts …

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