Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani's arm, but his bat will do -- for now

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The attrition that has plagued the Los Angeles Dodgers was most stark Tuesday night, when Matt Sauer, a 26-year-old journeyman, was called on to pitch bulk innings and wound up throwing 111 pitches, a career high and at least 29 more than he had tallied at any point in the past two years. He was followed by Enrique Hernandez, the team's effervescent utility player, who recorded the final seven outs of a lopsided loss to the San Diego Padres by throwing crossbody cutters that barely reached 50 mph, marking the first time in at least 67 years that a Dodgers position player had been called on for more than two innings.

Such is the state of the Dodgers' pitching staff. Its…