Once it became evident a sprained left ankle would keep Tony Gonsolin out of the Opening Day rotation, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided on Ryan Pepiot as a fifth starter. However, a left oblique strain forced the club to turn to Michael Grove instead.
Grove was penciled in to start the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, the Dodgers’ fifth game of the season. Although it wasn’t revealed until after their 13-4 win, L.A. nearly needed to pivot once again.
“He’s been under the weather, and it was kind of touch and go if he was going to make the start,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“But he was determined to make the start. So we kind of had a shorter leash on him. I thought in that fifth inning he started to kind of poop out a little bit. But he gave us everything he had, and the stuff was good. It was huge for our ballclub, it was a big lift. And for a young player to kind of post in this situation was a big sign for his character.”
When asked about his physical state, Grove said he was, “Feeling OK,” and “Just more weak than anything. I haven’t been able to eat a lot, but it didn’t affect me too much.”
Grove’s fastball velocity began to decline in the fifth inning, which he summed up as, “Just lost my legs a little bit.”
After some early traffic, Grove retired 11 batters in a row prior to issuing a leadoff walk in the fifth. He then was hurt by home-plate umpire Mark Carlson missing a called strike that eliminated a would-be double play on a strikeout-throw out at second base was wipe away because of a blown call on strike three.
The Rockies instead had two on with nobody out, and Elias Díaz promptly capitalized with an RBI double. Yency Almonte replaced Grove, only to immediately surrender an RBI single. The Rockies extended their lead when Jurickson Profar hit into a double play.
Grove was ultimately charged for three runs in five-plus innings.
Michael Grove history of pitching sick
Monday marked a second time in Grove’s young career he’s made a start for the Dodgers while being under the weather.
He last did so on Sept. 25, 2022, and earned his first career win.
“Hopefully I can shake that,” he said of starting sick.
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