Los Angeles Dodgers closer Tanner Scott has begun taking an aggressive attitude towards his pitching appearances amidst his struggles in 2025.
The Dodgers signed Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract after an impressive 2024 season, where he had a 1.75 ERA across 72 games with the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins.
Scott was one of several exciting signings in the offseason, however he has not quite justified the size of his contract so far with LA. Scott has a 4.64 ERA, and his nine blown saves this season are more than he had in his previous two seasons combined.
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In his struggles, he’s employed a new way of thinking which has improved his play over the past week.
“Well, I kind of just have the (to heck with it) attitude right now,” Scott said. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to go out there right now and not think. Just say, ‘(Screw) it.’
“I mean, that’s how I always pitched. I kind of lost it this year. Now I’m back to ‘(Screw) it.’”
Scott’s last four games have come against the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, and he has kept them scoreless in all four outings. Since revealing his new way of thinking, he has thrown two scoreless innings in relief. He has dropped his season ERA from 5.01 to 4.64 over his last four games.
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The left-hander is heating up at the right time, as the Dodgers bullpen desperately needs to wake up before the postseason arrives. A fully firing Scott would give the Dodgers an All-Star caliber player in the bullpen, something they desperately need to compete in the postseason.
The Dodgers are already locked into a spot in the postseason, and their magic number to secure first in the NL West for the fourth season in a row is just three with six games remaining in the season. After an off day Monday, they will begin a six-game road trip with a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are making a late push for the Wild Card and took two games off of the Dodgers at the end of August.
The opening game of their series against the D-Backs begins Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. PT.
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