Since making his MLB debut as a member of the starting rotation on Opening Day of the 2016 season, Ross Stripling has largely spent his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers filling a swingman role.
It took an adjustment for the right-hander who rose through the Minor League ranks as a starter. After initially struggling with being used as a hybrid of sorts, Stripling has since embraced it.
“I’ve kind of figured out that’s where my value is around here,” he told DodgerBlue.com during Spring Training. “That’s kind of what keeps me around. I’m like the Kiké of the pitching staff; I can kind of do it all.”
The 29-year-old is again doing a bit of everything, as Rich Hill suffering a strained flexor tendon has led to the Dodgers moving Stripling back into the rotation. He started six games to begin the season as one of two replacements while Hill and Clayton Kershaw were on the 10-day injured list.
Wednesday’s outing was Stripling’s first start since April 25. He wasn’t overly pleased with his performance but anticipates he’ll be able to improve by benefitting from getting back to a typical routine for a starting pitcher, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Probably the biggest difference is really I’d just kind of gotten into the swing of things of coming out of the bullpen and guns blazing right off the bat. That kind of took me a while. Now shifting back to the opposite and basically you get an inning or so to really hone everything in — you don’t want to. You want everything dialed in from the start but sometimes it’s just not that way. … Starting [Wednesday], I’ll get like a Day 1 workout and all that kind of stuff. Really go through that routine (as a starter) that I haven’t been able to the last six weeks. So that’ll kind of make everything crisper, I guess.”
Heading into the matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he hoped Stripling could go four innings and 60 pitches. He threw 60 pitches on the dot, though only in three innings.
A two-out walk and throwing error on a pickoff to first base led to the Diamondbacks tying the game in the bottom of the first on David Peralta’s RBI double. Peralta gave Arizona a lead with his two-out RBI single in the third inning.
How long Stripling remains in the rotation is unclear. Hill doesn’t anticipate he will be cleared to throw a baseball for at least three more weeks, which could translate to a return not manifesting until August or thereabouts.
Stripling certainly has experience with filling in because of injuries. When Kershaw, Hill, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler all missed time during the first half of last season, Stripling pitched his way to a first career All-Star Game selection.
He went into the 2019 campaign motivated to prove he was that caliber of pitcher and not the one who fatigued down the stretch.
