For all the starting pitching depth the Los Angeles Dodgers had when Spring Training began, the rotation has largely been a point of deficiency thus far. Entering Monday, only Clayton Kershaw and Brandon McCarthy have reached the seventh inning.
Until Hyun-Jin Ryu labored through six innings on April 18, only Kershaw and McCarthy had gone at least six frames. Kenta Maeda has arguably struggled most, allowing at least three runs in each of his four outings.
Maeda has failed to throw more than five innings in any start. On Saturday, he surrendered four home runs, including back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first.
In light of Maeda’s troubles, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with the right-hander in effort to uplift his spirits, via SportsNet LA:
“It was trying to encourage him to do, in my opinion what makes him good. I think his velocity has ticked up, which is a good thing, but I think there’s a little bit of a reliance on the four-seam fastball. I’ve seen Kenta put the baseball on the ground, pitching down in the zone and changing speeds a little bit more. It was just to have him exhale and feel good about things.”
Prior to speaking with Maeda, Roberts intimated the club was considering skipping his next turn in the rotation. That aligns with the second-year manager’s previous remarks that Julio Urias was a candidate to join the Dodgers by the end of the month.
Urias pitched for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, which means he could start on normal rest against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. Maeda is tentatively scheduled to take the ball Thursday.
On the season, the 29-year-old is 1-2 with an 8.05 ERA, 6.48 FIP and 1.53 WHIP. Maeda is tied for the Major-League lead with seven home runs allowed.
