Dodgers News: Rotation Set For First 5 Games
On Monday, we learned that right-hander Kenta Maeda was going to start Saturday’s game, which is the third game of Spring Training for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was after learning that Clayton Kershaw and Scott Kazmir would be starting the first two games of the spring schedule. Now, we’ve learned more.
The first five spring games have been set, as far as the starting pitcher goes, and it looks like the five that will start those games in order will probably be the five who start the season in the rotation for the team. It’s at least one way to keep a consistent look for the team going into the regular season.
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From Dodgers reporter, and SportsNetLA Host, Alanna Rizzo:
Kershaw, Kazmir, Maeda, Anderson, Wood will start first 5 #CactusLeague games. Very well could be the starting rotation to begin season.
— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) March 2, 2016
So, there you have it. The starting rotation for the first games will be Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Brett Anderson, and Alex Wood. As Rizzo mentions, that “very well could be” the team’s starting rotation that opens the regular season. And, in a lot of ways, it does make sense.
Out of all of the pitchers who are healthy and on the roster right now, those five would definitely fit the bill as being the best options for the rotation as of this moment. One of them will eventually get bumped from the rotation when Hyun-jin Ryu comes back, but you worry about that when you need to.
As of now, it appears that Anderson and Wood will fill out the back end of the rotation, and that’s a pretty solid tandem to have back there. Anderson logged 180.1 innings last season for the team, and he finished with a 3.69 ERA and 116 strikeouts during that time.
Wood was acquired by the team in a trade back in July of last season, and he only finished with a 4.35 ERA in 70.1 innings while striking out 49 batters. He struggled, but he’s a definite bounce back candidate this season. We’ll see how it all plays out during the year, but this is the Dodgers’ rotation for now.
