Upon using Ross Stripling in a spot start so Clayton Kershaw could be pushed back to face the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed the right-hander was a candidate to be brought back on short rest for the four-game finale at Busch Stadium.
Roberts indicated it hinged on Stripling’s usage in his first start since coming off the 10-day disabled list. He wound up throwing 51 pitches across 3.1 innings, and was inserted back into the starting rotation in favor of Alex Wood.
Whereas he allowed just one run to the Reds on three hits, Stripling didn’t fare as well against the Cardinals. Despite that, Stripling believed he was improved from last week’s outing, per David Wilhelm of MLB.com:
“I actually felt really good,” Stripling said, proclaiming his back 100 percent healthy. “I felt like I threw the ball better today than I did [Wednesday] in Cincinnati. The Ozuna homer really was a good pitch, down and away. You just kind of tip your cap on that one.”
Marcell Ozuna did dig out a pitch low and away for an opposite-field home run, which isn’t an indictment on Stripling. He then retired the side in order in the third inning but was knocked around some in the fourth.
Singles by Paul DeJong and Jedd Gyorko put the Cardinals ahead 2-0, and Yadier Molina’s RBI base hit extended their lead and knocked Stripling out of the game. He wasn’t all that efficient, throwing 72 pitches, but Stripling did strike out five batters without issuing a walk.
Should the Dodgers not use an off day this week to juggle their rotation, Stripling is slated to next start Saturday against the San Diego Padres.
