Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts tries to help struggling Chris Hatcher hit reset

Dave Roberts called struggling reliever Chris Hatcher into his office Friday afternoon. Rick Honeycutt, the Dodgers’ pitching coach, accompanied them during the meeting. With the door closed during a lengthy discussion, Roberts later relayed to reporters, the manager wanted Hatcher to “reset and take a deep breath.”

The Dodgers expected Hatcher to act as the eighth-inning bridge to closer Kenley Jansen. But Hatcher lost that job in April and ran into another rough patch Thursday night at Angel Stadium. He has a 6.35 earned-run average in 19 appearances. Part of the damage has been self-inflicted, with Hatcher walking a career-high 6.4 batters per nine innings.

“I think he’s trying to be too perfect,” Roberts said before Friday’s game against San Diego. “He’s got great stuff and great velocity. And when you try to be too perfect and try too hard, it sometimes goes the other way. That’s why, for me, [it was time] to intervene and have a conversation.”

Hatcher serves as the avatar for the bullpen’s failure, but he is not the only culprit. Even so, the team will carry an eight-man bullpen through the series against San Diego and next week against Cincinnati, Roberts said. Given the nightly instability of the starting rotation, save for those blessed days when Clayton Kershaw pitches, the extra arms are a necessity.

Help could be on the way in the form of hard-throwing right-hander Frankie Montas, who was transferred to double-A Tulsa to start a rehabilitation assignment. Montas underwent a rib resection before spring training, and is eligible to leave the 60-day disabled list on June 2.

He was clocked throwing his fastball in the triple digits during extended spring games, Roberts said.

“I like 100,” Roberts said. “One hundred is good.”

Acquired from the Chicago White Sox last winter, Montas struck out 20 batters in 15 innings in the majors last season. He also walked nine.

Short hops

Roberts still expects first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (lower back soreness) to return to the lineup Saturday night. ... Sebastian Martinez, a 20-year-old pitcher for the Dodgers’ Dominican Summer League team, was suspended 72 games after testing positive for a diuretic.

Follow Andy McCullough on Twitter: @McCulloughTimes