Bobby Miller — after spending over two months on the 15-day injured list — is making his long-awaited return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation Wednesday night against the Colorado Rockies.
The 25-year-old made two rehab starts for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and two more with Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers deemed Miller ready to be activated. He had been on the IL since April 13 (backdated to April 10) because of right shoulder inflammation.
The Dodgers are getting Miller back at the perfect time, as they lost Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the injured list on Sunday and Walker Buehler is expected to be sidelined as well. L.A. will go another long stretch without being fully healthy, but at least they have one of their more reliable pieces back in the mix on a regular basis.
Miller spoke about his readiness to return and the process of being away for so long, via Dennis Georgatos of the Southern California News Group:
“I feel really good, really excited for tomorrow,” Miller said Tuesday. “It’s been a long 2½ months, but I’m feeling really healthy, happy to be back in a major league game.”
The results in Miller’s rehab starts left something to be desired — 13 earned runs over 15 innings total — but he is less concerned about that and more focused on feeling healthy:
“I felt like I was getting healthier each time out there, and tried not to worry too much about the results in a rehab game,” Miller said. “Obviously, I want the results to be good but not think too much of it. If I come out of it feeling really good, that’s what matters most. You get to the major league game, it’s going to be a little different, and I expect to do good out there.”
And while there were some concerns about bringing Miller back at Coors Field — a notorious hitter’s park — for his first start, it’s another issue that doesn’t phase the young star:
“That’s what I did here last year and it was one of my best starts of the year,” Miller said. “Knowing that it is Coors, I know my changeup will play really good and that’s my best pitch anyway, so that’s a plus for me.”
By all accounts, it seems Miller is ready to take on the challenge of getting back into big league action. Both he and the Dodgers have been anxiously awaiting this return, and it will be exciting for the franchise to get one of their cornerstones back in the mix at a necessary time.
Bobby Miller stats from rehab starts
Miller threw a combined 15 innings and allowed 14 runs (13 earned) but managed to avoid surrendering a homer during his four rehab starts. He went 0-2 with a 7.80 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in those outings.
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