Guerrier feels more comfortable in second Dodgers season
Dodgers reliever Matt Guerrier is fully healthy after missing some time during spring training with back stiffness, and he's also more relaxed in his second season in Los Angeles.
It's evident in his early-season work.
Guerrier has pitched in three games so far, and he's retired nine of the 10 batters he's faced.
The 33-year-old veteran signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2010, and he had an inconsistent 2011 season. Guerrier went 4-3 with one save and a 4.07 ERA in 70 appearances.
"I think last year was an adjustment year for him," manager Don Mattingly said. "It's one of the things I talked to him about right away in spring training, to not try and come over here and show us what he can do. He's already proven he can pitch in the big leagues and established himself."
Guerrier spent the first seven years of his big-league career with the Twins, proving to be one of the more durable relievers in the game. He is the only man in baseball to have pitched at least 70 games in each of the last five seasons.
"If I'm your new teammate, I want to prove to you I can play," Mattingly said. "I think last year he basically was trying to show everyone he could play. At the end of the year, he said he never felt like himself all year."
Guerrier's role on the Dodgers is ideally to pitch the seventh inning, something he did in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, retiring all three batters he faced in what was still a one-run game.
Perhaps a healthy and more at ease Guerrier will serve as a stable bridge to Kenley Jansen and Javy Guerra at the end of games for the Dodgers. The team is counting on it.
