Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A day off yesterday. Two games in Arizona, then a day off on Thursday before starting a series in San Diego, just a short flight away, and no games scheduled on three of the four September Thursdays.
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Dodgers
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D’Backs
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6:40 p.m. PT
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Phoenix, Ariz.
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2B
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Gordon
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CF
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Inciarte
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CF
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Puig
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2B
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Hill
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1B
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Gonzalez
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RF
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Peralta
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RF
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Kemp
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1B
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Trumbo
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SS
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Ramirez
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C
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Montero
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LF
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Crawford
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RF
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Marte
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3B
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Turner
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3B
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Lamb
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C
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Ellis
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SS
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Gregorius
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P
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Hernandez (R)
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P
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Cahill (R)
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The schedule gets a little weird this time of year, but for a team that’s been as banged-up as the Dodgers, maybe that’s a good thing. There should really be no worry about overusing the bullpen at all, considering the pair of days off and that rosters expand on Monday, which is nice considering that three-fifths of the rotation is still Dan Haren, Kevin Correia, and Roberto Hernandez, starting tonight against the Diamondbacks.
Hyun-jin Ryu is eligible to return on Friday, likely bumping Correia, but right now it’s not certain that he will; he threw a pain-free bullpen session today (though not at “max effort“) and will throw a simulated game tomorrow, after which more will be known about his status. It’s really, really appealing to think that he can come back and prevent Correia from ever starting again. It might be more appealing to not rush Ryu if he’s not ready, and besides, if they can hold off until Monday, no one will need to be bumped from the roster, like Pedro Baez or Carlos Frias.
Anyway, tonight: the Diamondbacks. After facing off for five series in the first three months of the year, the teams haven’t met in more than two months, and things have changed a bit for Arizona. Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Ross, and A.J. Pollock are injured, Martin Prado and Brandon McCarthy are Yankees, Gerardo Parra is a Brewer, and Trevor Cahill, who had been banished to the bullpen earlier this year, is back in the rotation and starting tonight. This is still a bad team — they’re not in last place only due to the existence of the hilariously awful Colorado Rockies — but as we’ve seen, sometimes the bad teams can still be pretty dangerous this time of year.
That being said, Don Mattingly shouldn’t let Roberto Hernandez have any kind of leash longer than necessary tonight. Two games, surrounded by two days off. You don’t need rotation length. Empty the bullpen if you must.
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