Brandon McCarthy didn’t make an early return from Tommy John surgery per se, but he did initiate a conversation with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a previously scheduled rehab start to instead be his 2016 debut.
The change was a rousing success as the right-hander held the Colorado Rockies to two hits and had eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings. The decision to pull McCarthy after just 72 pitches was certainly understandable considering it was his first Major-League start since April 2015.
McCarthy labored through some stretches of his next outing and was again removed after five innings. Pitching on extra rest after the All-Star break, he put together his best start of the season.
However, McCarthy nonetheless came out after 77 pitches over six scoreless innings. He once more finished with eight strikeouts.
Following the July 16 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, McCarthy said his hope was to pitch deeper into games. He accomplished just that against the St. Louis Cardinals but was still cut short due to cramping in his right calf.
McCarthy expressed some frustration over needing to come out and downplayed the success he had, per ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“I think I ran into a team that was scuffling a little bit tonight and got a little lucky,” McCarthy said. “I was able to get deeper into the game, which I was happy with, but coming out when I did, I didn’t really care for. But what can you do?”
McCarthy set season-highs with 85 pitches thrown and 6.1 innings, and was efficient for much of the night. More impressively, the 33-year-old held the Cardinals to just one hit and two runs (one earned).
St. Louis entered with a five-game winning streak and a hot-hitting Jedd Gyorko in their lineup. McCarthy’s success has been needed by the Dodgers as injuries have continued to take their toll on the rotation.
Through four starts, he’s 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA, 26 strikeouts and only nine hits allowed.
