LOS ANGELES – So much for that six-man rotation.
Before the Dodgers could welcome starting pitcher Bobby Miller back from the Injured List, they lost right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto was placed on the IL Sunday following his early departure from his start Saturday with triceps soreness.
An examination (including an MRI) Sunday resulted in a diagnosis of a strained rotator cuff. Yamamoto will be out indefinitely.
“It’s going to take time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s just rest. But it’s going to take time. It’s not season-ending. … He’s not going to throw for a couple weeks and then we’ll kind of see where we go from there.”
Yamamoto had soreness coming out of his start in New York last weekend. He held the Yankees scoreless for seven innings and threw a season-high 106 pitches – his fourth consecutive start during which he threw at least 100 pitches after being held under 100 in his first nine starts.
The Dodgers pushed his start back from Thursday to Saturday, giving Yamamoto seven days off between starts. But the soreness resurfaced during his warmups on Saturday.
Roberts said he was not told Yamamoto was compromised heading into his start against the Royals Saturday and didn’t know until after the second inning when Yamamoto came out of the game.
“I did talk to Mark (Prior) and the conversation was, ‘How do you feel? I don’t feel 100%. I don’t feel frisky, but I feel fine,’” Roberts said. “And so there’s many conversations that happen every day in the big leagues as far as the pitching coach, where you’re not going to expect to feel frisky every start and you get through it. So again, that’s the communication that was relayed to me.”
Miller has been out since April 10 with a sore shoulder. He is scheduled to come off the IL and rejoin the rotation Wednesday in Colorado. Yamamoto’s spot in the rotation will come up again on Friday against the Angels. Roberts said the Dodgers would fill in for Yamamoto with “spot starts if needed” for now.
“Everyone knows our organization and how we think,” Roberts said. “You can’t have enough good players and depth. You always seem to tap into it. Losing some guys, we certainly have guys to back-fill. I’m excited about getting Bobby back. Clayton had a great ‘pen today so I’m excited for him to go out on his rehab assignment and get him back too.”
Kershaw is scheduled to make his first rehab start on Wednesday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Right-hander Michael Grove also went on the Injured List Sunday after feeling lat soreness following his two-inning outing in relief of Yamamoto Saturday. The injury is not considered a long-term issue, Roberts said.
Two right-handers were promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City – J.P. Feyereisen and Michael Petersen.
Feyereisen has been up and down with the Dodgers and has a 6.00 ERA in nine appearances this season.
Petersen 30, has never pitched in the big leagues but drew attention during last year’s World Baseball Classic when he pitched for Great Britain and hit 100 mph on the radar gun. The 6-foot-7 Petersen was born in the London area to an American father and Nigerian mother. He played baseball at Riverside City College and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015.
Injuries (including Tommy John surgery) and the pandemic derailed Petersen and he pitched just one inning in three seasons from 2020 through 2022. He spent most of last season in Triple-A for the Rockies then joined the Dodgers’ organization this season. He was 2-0 with four saves and a 1.61 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 21 ⅔ innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
In order to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Petersen, the Dodgers moved right-hander Joe Kelly to the 60-day IL. Kelly has been out since May 5 with a sore shoulder.
Dodgers (LHP James Paxton, 6-1, 3.92 ERA) at Rockies (RHP Cal Quantrill, 6-4, 3.30 ERA), Monday, 5:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
