The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has been in shambles in recent weeks, with Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu all currently on the disabled list.
Just when things were starting to look up with their replacements performing well and Kershaw due back on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies, Kenta Maeda was forced to leave his start on Tuesday in the second inning of the 6-1 loss to the Phillies due to a strained right hip.
Maeda has been one of the Dodgers best starters of late, so if he is forced to miss extended time, which may be likely, that will be another big loss. He is set to undergo an MRI on the hip on Wednesday.
While there weren’t any issues reported after his last start against the Colorado Rockies in which he tossed 6.2 shutout innings, striking out 12, Maeda said that is where the hip injury came to be, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I felt it at the end of the last outing, but then in between the last outing, it was feeling pretty good until I started pitching in this game.”
Maeda emphasized that his hip felt better throughout the course of the week, which is why he felt comfortable taking the mound against the Phillies:
“It’s something that in between outings it was getting considerably better and was really not much of a concern.”
While he won’t know for sure until he undergoes the MRI, Maeda does not believe that the injury is serious:
“For me personally, I think I won’t be away for a long time. But at the same time, I do have to see what the MRI says.”
With Maeda only being able to get five outs the night after starter Brock Stewart only went four innings, the Dodgers bullpen has been taxed a bit in the first two games of this series.
There likely will be help on the way from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, with Maeda going to the disabled being one potential way to open up a roster spot.
Maeda gave up three hits and two runs in his 1.2 innings of work, marking the first run(s) he had allowed in his last three starts.
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