While the attention Sunday was on Clayton Kershaw, his latest brush with a back injury and forthcoming stint on the disabled list, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team will also place Brandon McCarthy on the DL this week.
McCarthy threw a bullpen session Sunday morning to test the blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. Roberts said it went “OK,” but the team is electing to instead start Kenta Maeda on Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins.
The DL stint will be the third of the season for McCarthy. The 34-year-old dislocated his left shoulder during a workout in May and was sidelined last month by knee tendInitis.
With both the balky knee and blister, McCarthy went on to reveal after the fact that he’s pitched through the issues since the spring. The right-hander didn’t use either injury as an excuse for performance.
The start for Maeda is his fifth since last pitching out of the bullpen on June 23. That was an abridged appearance — one inning — because of the plan to insert him back into the rotation four days later.
Maeda is 8-4 with one save, a 4.23 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 17 games (15 starts) this season. Since completing seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he’s failed to throw more than five innings in any of his last three starts.
