The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation took a bit of a hit on Wednesday, as Rich Hill was placed on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his middle finger.
Luckily for Hill, the injury is not a blister, which has hampered him in the past. Instead, it is an issue with the fingernail, which Hill doesn’t expect to keep him out more than the minimum 10 days.
Hill was scheduled to start Friday night’s series opener against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. With an off day on Thursday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had the luxury of simply moving his probable pitchers up a day, with each going on normal rest instead of an extra day.
And that’s exactly what he’s decided do, with Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alex Wood taking the ball, in that order, during the weekend series against the Nationals, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Dave Roberts confirmed Clayton Kershaw will start Friday for #Dodgers v #Nationals (and Max Scherzer). Hyun-Jin Ryu goes Saturday and Alex Wood on Sunday.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 19, 2018
Friday’s pitching matchup will be the two best pitchers in the National League over the last few years, as Kershaw will be opposed by Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
Both Kershaw and Scherzer are off to outstanding starts to the 2018 season. Despite a tough-luck 1-2 record, Kershaw has yielded a 1.73 ERA, 3.01 FIP and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 31 and walking three in 26 innings.
Scherzer has been his usual dominant self, going 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA, 1.64 FIP and 0.67 WHIP with 38 strikeouts compared to just four walks in 27 innings.
Ryu will be opposed by Stephen Strasburg on Saturday, and Wood will square off against Jeremy Hellickson for the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game.
