The Los Angeles Dodgers managed just two wins on what turned out to be a disappointing six-game road trip, and with a .500 record sit in fourth place the National League West. The slow start is reminiscent of last season, which was forgotten as the Dodgers stormed to another year with 90-plus victories.
Among the differences with the 2017 Dodgers compared to last year’s iteration is the Opening Day rotation. Los Angeles began last season without the services of Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu, as both were recovering from respective surgeries.
This year, McCarthy and Ryu are the Dodgers’ fourth and fifth starters. They beat out the likes of Scott Kazmir, Brock Stewart, Ross Stripling and Alex Wood, among others, to earn spots in the rotation.
After McCarthy turned in six scoreless innings against the Cubs, Roberts touched on the difference-making ability his rotation has, via ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“You put this roster together and you see the depth as far as quality pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You see what Mac did and (Hyun-Jin) Ryu is going to try to match that or better him (Thursday). You get that and go back to (No. 1 starter Clayton Kershaw), that’s kind of how you get rolling. Last year, we never really had a chance to kind of maintain traction with our starting pitching.”
What has still been an Achilles’ heel for Dodgers starters is providing length. Through Thursday, only Clayton Kershaw and McCarthy had reached and completed six innings in an outing. Each has done so in both of their starts this season.
There was a slight disruption in the rotation when a blister on his left middle finger forced Hill to the 10-day disabled list. Though, Alex Wood did admirably in a spot start, and it’s possible Hill will return Sunday having missed just the one turn in the rotation.
He’s slated to test the blister by throwing a bullpen session on Thursday. Last season the Dodgers tied a franchise mark (set in 2015) by using 31 different pitchers. Of those, they called on 15 different starters, which was second-most in the Majors.
Beyond what the rotation may be able to provide this season, the Dodgers will need to muster better run support. They’ll face two left-handed pitchers during a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
