Although Los Angeles Dodgers game notes listed Tyler Anderson as the probable pitcher for the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Dave Roberts said Michael Grove would instead start Sunday.
Grove has remained with the Dodgers since getting recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sept. 14 to face the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. He stuck in the rotation for another start against the Diamondbacks last week, and now takes the mound to provide Anderson with an extra day of rest.
Grove has yet to earn a decision in his five appearances (four starts) for the Dodgers. He’s pitched to a 4.66 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in those games, and completed a career-high five innings in his last two starts.
As for Anderson, he’s receiving extra rest before making a second start since returning from the paternity list. He allowed three unearned runs over six innings and was tabbed with a loss against the Diamondbacks this past Tuesday.
Anderson put the blame on his shoulders despite the Dodgers committing three errors in addition to his one. “I felt pretty good,” Anderson said after starting for the first time in eight days.
“I just kind of turned into a one-man ‘Bad News Bears’ there in the sixth inning, which could have been the difference. Other than that, just some weird things happened.”
Opponents have been making better contact against Anderson of late, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dismissed that as reason behind shuffling the rotation order.
“I haven’t dug into that. In talking to him, he feels strong, he feels good,” Roberts said. “We decided to push him back not because of workload, it’s just kind of the way it lined up. He’s got a couple more starts, so we expect him to be good the rest of the way.”
Dave Roberts sees Michael Grove improving
When previously discussing Grove’s time up with the Dodgers, Roberts noted the pitching prospect had already shown signs of growth in limited opportunities.
“I think there’s conviction and trust. For any player, once you get to this level, to kind of have some success and belief in what you do is good enough, I think he’s starting to feel that,” Roberts said.
“It’s a leap of faith to trust your stuff and ability. To throw the fastball over the plate, to throw the curveball in the strike zone and trust that it’s good enough, those are things young players have got to kind of see.”
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