With Hurricane Hilary looming over the Southern California area, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins had Sunday’s game re-scheduled to be part of a split doubleheader on Saturday, which is going to change the pitching plans for both clubs.
The Dodgers were originally set to have Julio Urías pitch on Saturday with Bobby Miller set to go on normal rest in the series finale. However, Miller will now be pushed back to a future date, which will likely be on Wednesday following Clayton Kershaw’s start on Tuesday.
The Dodgers could also decide to push Kershaw back and use Miller on Tuesday. “I think our pitching guys are still talking through that,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Urías remains on track to pitch Saturday and will start originally scheduled 6:10 p.m. PT game. With the 12:10 p.m. start, the Dodgers are going to have Caleb Ferguson open and follow that with a bullpen game.
MLB rules state teams can add an extra player to their roster for a doubleheader, and Roberts confirmed the Dodgers will call up a right-handed starting pitcher from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take their extra roster space, but he is expected to pitch the bulk of the innings.
The presumed choice is going to be Ryan Pepiot, but Roberts stopped short of confirming that.
Even with the challenge of managing two games in one day, Roberts is still focused on winning each contest and thinks the Dodgers are “in a good spot” with their pitching staff.
He believes they can push their pitchers a little more on Saturday with off days on Sunday and Monday to rest.
“I’m going to manage the first game to win it and we’ll pick up the pieces after that,” Roberts said. “So if the game called for using leverage guys to win that game, we’ll win it. And we’ll figure it out after that. So I don’t think that Julio pitching in the second game will determine anything about how I manage it.”
Ryan Yarbrough potential option for Dodgers doubleheader
Ryan Yarbrough is the Dodgers’ long relief option, but he threw a bullpen session on Thursday in preparation of potentially following Bobby Miller on Sunday.
The Dodgers are having conversations with Yarbrough about his availability for the doubleheader, but they are going to see how he feels before making a decision.
“But for me, there’s no wrong answer for him,” Roberts noted. “If he doesn’t feel like he can do it, I got no problem with that because he threw a bullpen and these are unforeseen instances. I just want to make sure he feels comfortable and confident and we’ll figure it out if he can’t do it.”
If Yarbrough does pitch, Roberts said he doesn’t anticipate the left-hander going more than two innings.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
