Trayce Thompson, preparing for his eight consecutive start, works in the indoor cage before tonight’s game. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Reds at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. Kershaw CCLII: Kershawnhattan
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 3B
Trayce Thompson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
By Jon Weisman
Here’s a quick update on some of the Dodger newsmakers over the past 24 hours …
Ross Stripling
Getting optioned to the minors after winning Sunday’s game didn’t shock Stripling, who told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo that it was always the plan that he would be optioned around this time — though certainly current circumstances made the decision more obvious.
Stripling added that the plan is for him to throw three innings when he starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to Andy McCullough of the Times.
Dave Roberts said that Stripling could be used in the rotation or out of the bullpen when he returns to Los Angeles.
Ross Stripling, whose season began with 7 1/3 no-hit innings April 8 in San Francisco, pitched three shutout innings Sunday in his relief debut. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
Regrouping after throwing 582 pitches in three games at San Diego — and losing one of their pitchers to the disabled list in the process — the Dodgers are bringing up two fresh arms for their pitching staff.
Alex Wood struck gold as he struck out almost every San Diego Padre he faced tonight.
In only six innings, the 25-year-old set a career high with 13 strikeouts, then left the game with two runners on and the Dodgers clinging to a 2-1 lead. San Diego would then tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, and for the second night in a row, the outcome was left to the teams’ bullpens.
Frankie Montas at Spring Training in February, post-surgery. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Dodgers at Padres, 7:40 p.m.
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Corey Seager, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Trayce Thompson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, 1B
A.J. Ellis, C
Scott Kazmir, P
By Jon Weisman
Frankie Montas, the fireballing right-hander acquired with Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson from the White Sox, has been a mostly forgotten man since he had rib resection surgery February 12.
But Montas threw two innings Thursday in an extended Spring Training game Thursday at Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers said, and is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Saturday with Double-A Tulsa.
A potential starter or reliever, the 23-year-old struck out 108 in 112 innings with a 2.97 ERA for Double-A Birmingham, before striking out 20 in a 15-inning trial with the White Sox. In his last appearance of 2015, he struck out seven in four innings of one-run ball October 4.
Angels at Dodgers, 7:05 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Corey Seager, SS
Howie Kendrick, 1B
Joc Pederson, CF
Trayce Thompson, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Yasiel Puig, RF
Carl Crawford, DH
(Ross Stripling, P)
By Jon Weisman
Mike Bolsinger will return to the minor leagues after making a spot start Wednesday for the Dodgers, with reliever Chin-hui Tsao joining the roster from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Tsao, who turns 35 in June, has a 3.31 ERA and 1.35 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings this season, and has been unscored upon in his past eight appearances.
Last year, returning to the Majors after an eight-year absence, Tsao pitched seven innings for the Dodgers, with a 2.84 ERA in his first four games before allowing six runs in two-third of an inning July 25 against the Mets. He also doubled in his only at-bat.
Making his first MLB start in nearly eight months and his first since recovering from a March oblique injury, Bolsinger went 4 1/3 innings and was charged with two earned runs in the Dodgers’ 8-1 loss to the Angels, allowing nine of the 21 batters he faced to reach base, while striking out two.
With today’s big transactions, the Dodgers had to reconfigure space on the 40-man roster to make all the pieces fit.
Three players who have suited up for the Dodgers this year — Brandon Beachy, Chris Heisey and Chin-hui Tsao — were designated for assignment.
A fourth, Chris Hatcher, was moved to the 60-day disabled list, meaning that he can’t be activated until mid-August.
Michael Morse, who came from Miami today, was also designated for assignment. Taking on Morse’s contract helped the Dodgers acquire Mat Latos without sacrificing more in prospects than Jeff Brigham, Victor Araujo and Kevin Guzman.
Bronson Arroyo, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, was placed on the 60-day disabled list, while infield prospect Jose Peraza was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
[mlbvideo id=”249353983″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /] By Jon Weisman
Chin-hui Tsao’s appearance and win in Friday’s 3-2 victory over Milwaukee, after eight years away from the Major Leagues, has reminded me of two-time Dodger pitcher Vicente Romo, who made his MLB debut for the Dodgers with one inning on April 11, 1968, then didn’t throw his next inning with Los Angeles until May 28, 1982.
Vicente Romo had the greatest career in the history of the Mexican Pacific League. He won a record 182 games in the LMP. Additionally he is the all-time league leader in ERA (2.38), strikeouts (2,038), complete games (178) and starts (364) during 24 years there. He pitched the first LMP perfect game and had a 17-win, 1.07 ERA in 1967-1968.
Romo also did a fine job in summer games, winning another 182 games in the Mexican League and 45 more in other leagues, for 409 wins counting his performance in winter leagues. …
… Vicente retired with a 182-106 record and 2.49 ERA in the Mexican League. Despite spending nine full seasons in the US, he ranked (as of 2000) in the top 10 all-time in the Mexican League in strikeouts (1,857, 5th-best), shutouts (52, tied for third) and complete games (179, 7th). His ERA is the best among pitchers with over 2,000 innings, a solid .17 ahead of #2 George Brunet. In winning percentage his .632 is third-best among pitchers with over 2,000 innings, trailing only Rafael Garcia (.645) and Andres Ayon (.633). In addition to being the top pitcher in the history of Mexico’s winter league, Romo has a reasonable case as the best pitcher in the Mexican League as well. He was voted into the Salon de la Fama in 1992. …
As the 39-year-old teammate of 21-year-old countryman Fernando Valenzuela in 1982, Romo had a 1.38 ERA in his first 13 innings with the Dodgers. He finished his Dodger career with an ERA of 2.95, and ultimately pitched in Mexico until he was 43. He was elected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Clayton Kershaw allowed only one run in 3 1/3 innings Sunday, but it came amid four hits, three walks and a very critical self-assessment. Ken Gurnick has quotes from Kershaw, Yasmani Grandal and Don Mattingly at MLB.com.
Health reports on Brandon League have gone up and down over the past 48 hours, with the latest now being that he will be shut down for several days, with further medical tests likely, according to Gurnick.
As noted Saturday, there is a bevy of candidates for the Dodger bullpen even if League has a prolonged absence. Making a bid from the extreme outside is Chin-hui Tsao, who didn’t even have an invite to Major League camp but has now retired all 12 batters he has faced. Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. and Gurnick have more on Tsao, who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since throwing 24 2/3 innings for the Dodgers in 2007.
We’ve learned more of the names that will be split-squading on the Dodgers’ two-day Big League Weekend trip Friday and Saturday in San Antonio. Here’s what we now have to date:
Pitchers: Zack Greinke (starter), Erik Bedard (starter), Joe Wieland, Pedro Baez, Daniel Coulombe, Yimi Garcia, Juan Nicasio.
Position players: Yasmani Grandal, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Justin Turner, Joc Pederson, Darwin Barney, Alex Guerrero, Kike Hernandez, Shawn Zarraga, Chris O’Brien, Kyle Jensen, Matt Carson, Buck Britton, Darnell Sweeney.
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Thank You For Not ...
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Attendance
1991-2013
Dodgers at home: 1,028-812 (.558695)
When Jon attended: 338-267 (.558677)*
When Jon didn’t: 695-554 (.556)
* includes road games attended
2013
Dodgers at home: 51-35 (.593)
When Jon attended: 5-2 (.714)
When Jon didn’t: 46-33 (.582)
Note: I got so busy working for the Dodgers that in 2014, I stopped keeping track, much to my regret.
