Ever since they returned from midseason treks to triple-A Oklahoma City, Bobby Miller and Walker Buehler have been in a similar boat.
The Dodgers continued to believe in their potential, even after porous and injury-plagued first halves of the season.
But to be counted on in October, they’d have to back it up with their late-season performances.
To this point, only one has answered the bell.
While Buehler has shown signs of life — and said he has felt more like his old self — with back-to-back encouraging starts, Miller continues to trend in the wrong direction, reaching perhaps a new low in his frustrating sophomore campaign in Wednesday night’s 10-1 loss to the Angels in Anaheim.
Miller’s first inning was an unmitigated disaster. He walked his first batter, then hit the next. He gave up two runs on back-to-back singles, then served up a first-pitch three-run homer to Mickey Moniak.