Giants @ Dodgers June 20, 2019: Bumgarner vs. Muncy, the rematch

Photo: Stacie Wheeler

The Dodgers (50-25) go for the series win against the Giants (31-41) on Thursday night. They’ve plated nine runs in each of their last two victories vs. last-place San Francisco They look to continue their offensive onslaught behind Julio Urias who gets the spot start.

 
Giants
   
Dodgers
 
7:10 p.m.
   
Los Angeles
2B
Panik  
CF
Hernandez
RF
Austin  
3B
Turner
C
Posey  
1B
Freese
1B
Belt  
2B
Muncy
3B
Longoria  
SS
Taylor
CF
Pillar  
LF
Garlick
SS
Crawford   RF Verdugo
LF
Yastrzemski  
C
Barnes
P
Bumgarner (L)  
P
Urias (L)

Urias starts for the first time since April 18 as the Dodgers shake up their rotation a bit. Rich Hill left after pitching just one inning in the Dodgers’ 9-2 victory on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers placed Hill on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain. We don’t really know the extent of his injury, but he told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that it doesn’t feel severe.

“The third warmup pitch, everything tightened up and I didn’t feel it would be a wise move to keep going,” he said. “I felt it was something more severe than something I can pitch through. Just knowing your body and being smart, as opposed to having something that could be disastrous for the rest of the year. You know that the next pitch could be the one where it could be a season-ending issue. In that situation, before where I had blown my elbow out in 2011, I felt immediately where it was a pop and knew that something was massively wrong, and this time around it was definitely not that severe.”

Hill is the oldest pitcher in the majors at 39. With Hill out of the equation for now, the Dodgers made some roster moves Thursday ahead of the game.

Right-handers JT Chargois and Josh Sborz were recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City in order to provide fresh arms for the bullpen. Neither are starters, so Urias and/or Ross Stripling will likely slot into the rotation temporarily.

Chargois was with the Dodgers earlier in the season and made two relief appearances before being optioned back down to OKC. He’s 1-2 with a 2.17 ERA, 1.276 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 in 29 innings of relief with the OKC Dodgers this season.

Sborz will join the big club for the second time, looking to make his MLB debut. He’s 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.432 WHIP and 11.4 K/9 in 29.1 innings pitched in Triple-A this year.

In typical Madison Bumgarner (3-6, 3.87 ERA, 3.96 FIP) fashion, the long-time Giant was triggered when Max Muncy rounded the bases after his splash home run into McCovey’s Cove the last time the Dodgers and Giants met up. This could very well be the last start MadBum makes against the Dodgers in a Giants uniform. The rivals won’t face each other again this season until September, and Bumgarner is a prime trade chip as the July deadline approaches.

Bumgarner is 0-2 this season in his three starts vs. the Dodgers, but he’s pitched well. He has a 0.95 ERA and 0.947 WHIP in 19 innings. Overall, in his career against the Dodgers, the left-handed veteran is 15-13 with a 2.52 ERA and 1.056 WHIP in 35 games. He’s 9-8 with a 2.34 ERA in 21 career games at Dodger Stadium. The angry hurler has allowed 17 homers at Chavez Ravine, the most at any stadium he’s pitched at besides Oracle Park.

As we know, Muncy is a new target of anger for Bumgarner. Enrique “Grand Slam” Hernandez is 24-for-48 (.500) with six doubles and four home runs off MadBum. Kiké and Muncy are both in the lineup, batting leadoff and cleanup.

I hope MadBum has to get several balls out of the parking lot tonight.

About Stacie Wheeler

Stacie Wheeler, born and raised in So Cal, has been writing about the Dodgers since 2010. She wrote daily as the co-editor of Lasorda's Lair for five long years, and she has also written for Dodgers Nation, Dodger Blue 1958 and The Hardball Times. She currently contributes to True Blue LA. Stacie graduated from the University Of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in Cinema-Television. You can also watch her videos on her YouTube channel, DishingUpTheDodgers.