The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Matt Beaty from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Friday’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies and placed Josh Sborz on the 10-day injured list with lower back soreness.
Sborz heads to the IL one day after making his MLB debut. The right-hander entered in the eighth inning with a 9-4 lead and retired the side in order. Sborz returned to the mound to finish the game out but issued a leadoff walk, then allowed a single and two-run double.
“I thought the way Josh was throwing the ball and to have Kenley behind him, that we could cover five runs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of looking to get a second inning from Sborz.
“When you have a five-run lead and a taxed bullpen, the goal was to win the game. Obviously every game is important, and you have Kenley behind him, versus spending someone else that’s on fumes, you kind of weigh out all those factors.”
Jansen did enter the game but the ninth inning continued to spiral out of the control until he could record an out, much less convert the save opportunity. “All I could do is slow it down. Things just happen so fast out there. Like I said, I just got it done and I’ve got to get better,” Jansen said after the Dodgers hung on for a 9-8 win.
Sborz was ultimately charged for three runs in one-plus inning. The Dodgers’ second-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft has made 25 appearances for Oklahoma City this season, going 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
Beaty returns one day after he was optioned as part of the corresponding moves to the Dodgers recalling Sborz and JT Chargois; Rich Hill being placed on the 10-day injured list with a left flexor strain was the other.
Beaty has impressed over separate stints with the Dodgers, hitting .286/.310/.393 with three doubles, one home run and nine RBI in 23 games. “If you perform and I feel you give us the best chance to win, you’re going to be in there,” Roberts recently said.
“Matt, to his credit, the at-bats that he’s taken, he’s earned that. The thing is for me, for the most part he swings at strikes. And when he does get out of the strike zone, he has a good ability to adjust within the at-bat. Doesn’t punch much, hits velocity and uses the whole field.”
Beaty’s return gives the team a four-man bench and potentially necessary infield depth. Max Muncy was removed from Thursday’s game due to a right ankle contusion that impacted his ability to swing the bat. X-rays were negative but Muncy left the clubhouse with a noticeable limp.
Roberts said the club would re-evaluate him Friday.
