Dodgers News: Mike Bolsinger Scheduled For Friday Spot Start
After a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers left Chavez Ravine and headed for Petco Park to begin a four-game series over the weekend against the San Diego Padres.
Much was made of the start on Wednesday night by reigning NL MVP Clayton Kershaw, especially with the workload of a 132-pitch complete game. It appears as though manager Don Mattingly knew what he was doing in leaving Kershaw in the game, as Kershaw will now be obtaining an extra day of rest before his next start.
After the game, Mattingly announced that Mike Bolsinger will be starting for the ball club on Friday against the Padres, in order to push back the starters in the rotation a day and give Zack Greinke and Kershaw a well-deserved extra day of rest. “We’re going to slip Bolsinger in. He’ll pitch Friday in San Diego,” Mattingly said in the post-game press conference.
Bolsinger was a savior for the Dodgers in the sense that injuries were plaguing the starting rotation at the beginning of the season. When starters Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy both went down with season-ending injuries, Bolsinger was one of the heavily relied upon arms that met the call.
In 16 starts, the 27-year-old went 5-3, with a 2.83 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 133 ERA+, and 1.24 WHIP. Once the Dodgers completed the trade to acquire starting pitchers Alex Wood and Mat Latos, Bolsinger was subsequently sent down the Triple-A in order to stay in game shape once the September 40-man roster expansion could be used.
Dodger fans should feel optimistic for Bolsinger’s start against the Padres for one reason; the second-year player had potentially the best start of his career against the Padres at the beginning of the season. On May 23, the right-handed pitcher delivered eight shutout innings, where he only allowed one hit, zero walks, and struck out eight batters in a victory.
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glad to have him back, he never should have been taken out of the rotation!