Dodgers @ Giants May 1, 2019: Ryu vs. Bumgarner for the series win

Last night’s game was pretty good. Much better than the first. Here’s hoping the Dodgers can get a strong performance from Hyun-Jin Ryu to pull out the series win. He’ll be facing a familiar foe in Madison Bumgarner.

	Dodgers			Giants
	6:45 p.m.			San Francisco
2B	Hernández		RF	Duggar
SS	Seager		LF	Austin
3B	Turner		1B	Belt
RF	Bellinger		C	Posey
1B	Freese		3B	Longoria
C	Martin		CF	Pillar
CF	Verdugo		SS	Crawford
LF	Taylor		2B	Solarte
P	Ryu (L)		P	Bumgarner (L)

With the Dodgers facing their third consecutive left-handed pitcher, Joc Pederson is again seeing the bench tonight. Thankfully, though, Alex Verdugo draws the start in center field instead of going with some Max Muncy, second baseman shenanigans like they did last night. 

Enrique Hernandez is hitting leadoff, and we all know how much he likes to hit against Bumgarner. Here’s hoping for a dong or two tonight.

The biggest bit of news today isn’t great.

Dave Roberts said A.J. Pollock's elbow is now structurally sound, which is why the plate and screws are being removed tomorrow. The elbow broke twice previously.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 2, 2019

A.J. Pollock will have surgery tomorrow to remove the hardware from previous elbow operations.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 2, 2019

There isn’t yet a timetable for A.J. Pollock‘s return, but it sure sounds like he’ll be out for awhile. I wrote about Verdugo benefiting from the most in this scenario, but Chris Taylor got the start last night and came up with a big hit. Still, expect Verdugo to get a lot of time in center field.

Dodgers LHP Caleb Ferguson, who is on the injured list, threw a bullpen session today.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 1, 2019

This is encouraging. Caleb Ferguson will be a vital part of the bullpen this season, and it’s nice to see his injury probably won’t keep him out too long.

Dave Roberts said Andrew Toles has reported to @camelbackranch as @kengurnick reported a couple days ago and added this: "We're trying to get him physically back where he needs to be. How long that takes remains to be seen, but I'm happy to have him back at CBR working."

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 2, 2019

It’s awesome that Andrew Toles is back doing baseball things. The safest bet is to not expect much from him this season, but if he can come back ready to play, he could be a nice asset for the club at some point this season.