Dodgers @ Padres Sept. 4, 2015: Mike Bolsinger’s Time To Shine

When you’re up by 6.5 games in September, and you’ve won 9 of 11, there’s not a ton of controversy you can generate. Tonight, Mike Bolsinger looks to do just that.

As Dustin accurately recapped today, the Mat Latos era has not exactly been a successful one. Bolsinger, by contrast, has been surprisingly efficient. There’s obviously sample size issues in what I’m about to say, but Bolsinger’s 2.90 FIP is identical to Jacob deGrom and better than Jon Lester, Michael Wacha, and Sonny Gray. His 2.83 ERA is better than Max Scherzer, Madison Bumgarner, and Johnny Cueto. It should go without saying that doing those things over Bolsinger’s 89 innings is hardly comparable to doing it over the 180 or so innings the other guys have, but still: When Bolsinger’s been in, he’s been very good.

Bolsinger’s spent the last month in Triple-A, thanks to the trade for Latos and Alex Wood, last appearing in the bigs on July 29. In six outings (four starts) for Oklahoma City, Bolsinger had a 2.93 ERA with a 33/12 K/BB in 27.1 innings, capped by an 11-whiff gem over seven scoreless innings on Saturday. I don’t know if there’s any chance for Bolsinger to overtake Wood for the fourth starter’s role in the playoffs, or even if you want there to be. But a good start tonight is imperative if there is.

In other news, Mike Bolsinger, Corey Seager, Chase Utley, and Scott Schebler are all starting for the first-place Dodgers in September, which is a thing that would have sounded very weird a year ago.

Also:

Kendrick will return in regular season, Mattingly said; Puig and Hernandez iffy.

— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) September 5, 2015

Let’s start some hilarious panic for no reason: Has Yasiel Puig played his final game as a Dodger?