The Los Angeles Dodgers just completed a stretch of playing 13 games in 13 days before getting a day off this past Thursday, and it forced them to rely on the depth of their pitching staff.
But now, the Dodgers are in a stretch of five days that includes two days off, which gives them some flexibility on how they want to use their pitching. Along with just having Thursday off, the Dodgers also don’t have a game on Monday following their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Because of those extra days, the Dodgers are skipping Emmet Sheehan’s turn in the rotation, manager Dave Roberts said. For now, Sheehan will be available out of the bullpen.
“He’ll be available [Sunday] at some point if we want to use him,” Roberts said. “We haven’t figured out when we’re going to pitch him next. But yeah, Kersh is going to go on Tuesday, and Shohei will go on Wednesday.”
Sheehan is coming off his best outing of the season, when he pitched seven shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. He set a season high with 10 strikeouts and walked just one hitter.
However, Sheehan is in his first year back from Tommy John surgery, so the Dodgers are not going to push him more than necessary. He’s at 48 innings this season, which is already closing in on a career high of 60.1.
It also gives the Dodgers another look at Sheehan out of the bullpen, which is a role he could have in the postseason with the rotation likely going to be full.
But the move is likely to be temporary, and Sheehan should re-join the rotation the next time through the order. The Dodgers only have two days off in September, so they’ll want to get their starters back on the extra day of rest.
Shohei Ohtani not getting day off after start
The Dodgers have recently planned on starting Shohei Ohtani before days off, and when that wasn’t an option after Ohtani started against the Colorado Rockies, they gave kept him out of the lineup the next day.
But Roberts plans for Ohtani to be back in the lineup as the designated hitter the day after he starts on Wednesday. “That was kind of a situation where we were in Colorado, so that was kind of the thought with that one,” Roberts said.
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