Dodgers Face Bullpen Trouble as Closer Díaz Struggles
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a problem. Their bullpen is not playing well right now.
A bullpen is the group of pitchers who play near the end of a game. The Dodgers' bullpen has had some bad games.
Edwin Díaz is the team's closer. A closer is the pitcher who plays at the very end of a game to win it. Díaz has had trouble finishing games well.
People call these bad endings a meltdown. A meltdown means a team plays very badly and loses control of a game.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke about the problem. A manager is the person who leads the team and makes decisions. Roberts said Díaz will stay as the closer.
Díaz is working on his mechanics. Mechanics means the way a player moves his body to throw the ball. He wants to throw better and stop the losses.
The Dodgers are the champions. This means they won the biggest prize last year. Fans hope the bullpen will get better soon.
Vocabulary15 words
- bullpen
- the group of pitchers who play at the end of a game
- closer
- the pitcher who plays at the very end of the game
- meltdown
- when a team suddenly plays very badly
- mechanics
- the way a person moves their body to do something
- champions
- the team that won first place
- manager
- the person who leads a sports team
- problem
- something that is not working well
- stay
- to not leave; to keep the same
- recent
- happened not long ago
- struggle
- to have a hard time doing something
- role
- the job a person has
- throw
- to send something through the air with your hand
- game
- a sports match
- team
- a group of players who play together
- pitcher
- a player who throws the ball in baseball
Quiz
Answer key
1. Their bullpen is not playing well 2. He is the closer 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a problem. Their _____ is not playing well right now.
A bullpen is the group of pitchers who play near the end of a _____. The Dodgers' bullpen has had some bad games.
Edwin Díaz is the team's _____. A closer is the pitcher who plays at the very end of a game to win it.
People call these bad endings a _____. A meltdown means a team plays very badly and loses control of a game.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke about the problem. Roberts said Díaz will _____ as the closer.
Díaz is working on his _____. This means the way a player moves his body to throw the ball.
The Dodgers are the _____. This means they won the biggest prize last year.
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