Justin Wrobleski ‘Grateful’ For MLB Debut With Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell 9-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in a game that saw Justin Wrobleski make his MLB debut.

The left-hander was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to first pitch and proceeded to give up four runs on five hits over five innings of work. “I felt good,” Wrobleski said after the game.

“It was just kind of a matter of being grateful for the moment and that’s kind of the big theme. I was on the way over here today just like I’m really thankful for the opportunity, and at this point, you’re already here, let’s just do it.

“I had a lot of fun, I felt pretty comfortable out there. I thought I was going to be pretty nervous, but I was just like any other game. It just felt normal, felt like I belong, so it was a lot of fun.”

Wrobleski got through three scoreless innings before allowing a two-run homer to Christian Yelich in the top of the fourth.

“You’re going to give up home runs sometimes here and there, and unfortunately today I got tagged for two of them. But the walk is frustrating obviously because it’s not something that’s usually part of my game,” Wrobleski said.

“I don’t like to walk guys, I hate it. So walking guys is never good, but I think both are equally upsetting, if that makes sense. Kind of hung a slider there and he got it, so that’s part of the game. But at the end of the day. I can’t be too up or down about anything, it was an awesome day for me.”

Wrobleski returned to the mound in the fifth inning and allowed a leadoff bunt single to Blake Perkins, who advanced to second base on a throwing error.

Perkins was eventually picked off, but a two-out double by Vinny Capra set the stage for Eric Haase’s two-run homer that gave the Brewers a 4-0 lead.

“I just think it all goes back to I’ve prepared for this. I think I’m ready for this,” Wrobleski said on how he managed traffic on the basepaths.

“I was ready for this, just kind of telling myself that. This is what you do, you go out there, you get outs, you get out of tough situations and you keep pitching regardless of what’s happening.

“So I think that’s kind of how I got through it, is just telling myself it’s just baseball like just go play baseball, like you know, how.”

Although he took a loss in his MLB debut, Wrobleski enjoyed sharing a dugout with the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.

“Super cool, super cool. Obviously you love that,” Wrobleski said of the Dodgers’ star power. “You love to have guys like that behind you and working with Will is awesome. So it was a lot of fun for me and obviously something I’ve dreamed of for a long time, so it’s been super cool.”

Justin Wrobleski starstruck by Clayton Kershaw

Wrobleski also noted the uniqueness of being on the same team as Clayton Kershaw, a player he grew up watching. “Yeah, it’s really cool,” Wrobleski said.

“A guy like him who’s been in the game for so long. Legend. It’s really cool, really, really cool.”