The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation arguably was the backbone of the team through the first half despite Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill beginning the season on the 10-day injured list, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda each being sidelined for a brief stretch.
Most recently, Hill was lost to the 10-day injured list because of a flexor strain in his left forearm. With Dodgers manager Dave Roberts not anticipating a return before Sept. 1, the veteran starter was transferred to the 60-day IL on July 3.
To no surprise, Ross Stripling was tabbed to fill the void left by Hill’s injury. Although Stripling had previously thrived in the swingman role, he struggled since again being inserted into the rotation.
Stripling was improved on Saturday, holding the Boston Red Sox to just one run over five innings. He attributed the success to matching his feel for pitches and having an effective arsenal, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times
“I felt like I threw the ball well the last few starts and just didn’t have much to show for it,” Stripling said. “I definitely had kind of everything firing today and felt like, with the mix, I was able to keep them off balance a bit.”
The lone run Stripling allowed came on an Xander Bogaerts blast over the Green Monster that cut the Dodgers’ lead in half in the fourth inning. He retired the next two batters faced and worked around a one-out base hit in the fifth inning.
Stripling snapped a string of two consecutive starts with four earned runs allowed and also had seven strikeouts for a third time. His season high is eight strikeouts, set in a spot start against the Milwaukee Brewers in April.
All indications point to Stripling remaining the Dodgers’ fifth starter for the foreseeable future. The club continues to impose an innings limit on Julio Urias, and Caleb Ferguson is back with Triple-A Oklahoma City after persistent struggles up in the Majors.
However, the Dodgers reportedly are among the teams interested in Detroit Tigers starter Matthew Boyd. A trade for the southpaw presumably would bump Stripling back into the bullpen.
