Rangers @ Dodgers June 13, 2018: Maeda Returns

The Dodgers continued their torrid hitting last night, scoring seven runs in the fourth inning off Bartolo Colon en route to a 12-5 victory over the Texas Rangers. Caleb Ferguson ran into some trouble, but overall pitched much better than in his debut last Wednesday. Daniel Corcino recorded a three-inning save, putting Kenley Jansen‘s role in danger IMO. Today, the Dodgers look for a third straight victory and a fourth straight series win.

	Rangers			Dodgers
	7:10 PM			Los Angeles
LF	Choo		SS	Taylor
CF	DeShields		3B	Turner
RF	Mazara		LF	Kemp
3B	Beltré		CF	Hernández
SS	Profar		1B	Bellinger
1B	Gallo		RF	Puig
C	Chirinos		2B	Forsythe
2B	Odor		C	Barnes
P	Hamels (L)		P	Maeda (R)

Kenta Maeda returns to start for the first time since May 29th due to a hip strain. He only recorded five outs in that start against the Phillies and allowed two runs before leaving the game, so it’s easy to forget just how good Maeda was before going down. Maeda is no longer a qualified pitcher, but if we lower the number of innings pitched to 50, Maeda ranks ninth in baseball in strikeout percentage. His 3.61 ERA isn’t quite as elite as his strikeout number, but Maeda’s been victimized by a .336 BABIP against, which is also the ninth-highest in baseball (min 50 innings). It’ll be interesting to see how healthy Maeda is and how deep he can go in the game, but having him back in the rotation is definitely a good thing.

Justin Turner is in the lineup for consecutive days, which is probably good news about his wrist. With a lefty starting for the Rangers, Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Yasmani Grandal all sit.

For the Rangers, Cole Hamels takes the ball for the 14th time this season. The 34-year-old is 10 years younger than last night’s starter, but Hamels is still producing in his 13th Major League season. Hamels leads the Rangers in innings pitched this season at 79 1/3, and is also the only Ranger starter with a sub-4.00 ERA (3.68). He also currently has the worst FIP of his career (5.37), probably due to the fact that he’s allowing the highest hard-hit contact rate of his career at 44.8 percent. He’s gone at least six innings in nine of his 13 starts this season, including each of his six starts since the beginning of May. He lasted 7 1/3 innings in his last outing against Houston, but allowed five runs. Hamels is also tied for the league lead with 10 hit batters.

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While Maeda returns tonight, another starter could return next week.

The plan is for Rich Hill to throw four or five innings on rehab assignment tomorrow. His next outing would then be for the Dodgers.

— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) June 13, 2018

Rich Hill will throw a rehab game tomorrow for Single-A Rancho Cucomonga. If he survives it, he could be back in the rotation early next week when the Dodgers visit the Chicago Cubs.

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Another starter’s fate could be determined by Hill’s rehab start.

Caleb Ferguson still on #Dodgers roster. Good indication he will get another start —Sunday at home? Tuesday in Chicago? Dodgers have spots to fill

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 13, 2018

Ferguson was not the roster move for Maeda’s activation. Ferguson starting in Chicago seems less-than-ideal, but another home start against the Giants wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Ross Stripling starts Friday on regular rest. Alex Wood gets an extra day. He’ll go Saturday. Sunday is TBD, but could be Ferguson.

— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) June 13, 2018

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The roster move for Maeda was announced earlier.

Today, the Dodgers reinstated Kenta Maeda from the 10-day DL (right hip strain) and optioned RHP Daniel Corcino to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 13, 2018

Corcino threw 56 pitches last night to record the Dodgers’ first three-out save of the season, and has been sent back down.

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Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman watching thru the fence as Clayton Kershaw throws in bullpen again today #Dodgers

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 13, 2018

Clayton Kershaw threw a bullpen session today.