A domino effect to the Los Angeles Lakers making an adjustment to their starting rotation for the finale of last weekend’s series finale against the San Diego Padres was that it then left Ross Stripling lined up to face the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the change was both due to considering the matchup with Rich Hill and to provide the veteran left-hander with an additional day of rest before his next outing. That was expected to come Friday, but Hill is being skipped in the series with the San Francisco Giants.
The strategy thus far has backfired. Stripling only went 3.1 innings against the Padres and followed that up by getting all of five outs at Chase Field on Wednesday.
After another short outing, Stripling admitted he’s found difficulty in establishing any sort of rhythm since returning from the 10-day disabled list, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Yeah, it’s been really tough. All-Star break, coming off two different DL stints, not going to make any excuses but just haven’t had a lot of traction. Haven’t had any outings where I’ve been able to build confidence going into another outing. They’ve all just kind of been a battle. Normally, you want to throw a Day 2 bullpen where you’re going through the flow, getting things right. Seems like all my bullpens, I’m working on stuff.”
After missing nearly one month, Stripling’s first appearance upon being activated was a relief appearance that saw him retire the only batter faced. He replaced Alex Wood in the starting rotation after that, and went 3.1 innings in three straight outings.
While he didn’t provide length in the first start of that stretch, Stripling allowed just one run. He’s since gone 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA in his last three starts.
