While the Los Angeles Dodgers were absorbing one injury after another in their starting rotation, a silver lining was found in the expected returns of Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Ryu only managed to make one start before being put back on the 15-day disabled list. He’s since been transferred to the 60-day DL, and whether Ryu will pitch again this season is a reasonable question.
Meanwhile, McCarthy pitched to better-than-expected results through his first four starts. The past three outings, however, have been an entirely different story.
The right-hander again struggled on Sunday, failing to so much as complete four innings of work. According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, McCarthy isn’t certain of what’s at the root of his ongoing trouble:
“I can’t feel what’s happening and I don’t know what the hell this is,” he said. “I’ve never had it before. Curveball feels very normal. … The four-seamer is just kind of a disappearing mess. I don’t know what that is but I have to figure it out soon.”
Coming out of a start in which he said he ‘felt very weird,’ McCarthy threw four pitches to the backstop. McCarthy had similar issues after a rain delay at Coors Field, which was generally accepted as the reason he wasn’t sharp in that outing.
For as much as McCarthy struggled against the Boston Red Sox, he did only allow two runs on two hits. But with command again an issue, the 33-year-old tied a career high with five walks. McCarthy previously walked five batters in his Aug. 2 start.
