Dodgers choosing rest for starters over head-to-head matchup with Giants

LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves volition get the champion the Dodgers person to connection this week. The San Francisco Giants? Not quite.

Julio Urias, Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer are lined up to commencement the three-game bid against the Braves opening Monday. All 3 volition beryllium starting connected 5 days’ rest. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the trio volition beryllium connected 4 days’ remainder for their adjacent starts — which means Urias volition commencement the mediate crippled of adjacent weekend’s showdown bid successful San Francisco with Buehler connected Sunday.

Scherzer is not scheduled to commencement successful the three-game bid against the Giants, the Dodgers’ past head-to-head gathering with the NL West frontrunners.

Had the Dodgers fixed the trio conscionable 4 days’ remainder earlier each of their adjacent 2 starts, each 3 would person pitched successful the bid against the Giants.

“It’s surely going to beryllium a large series,” Roberts said of the determination not to enactment up each 3 to look the Giants. “But I deliberation making definite that you instrumentality attraction of the guys — Julio and Walker, namely — arsenic acold arsenic giving them an other day, to recognize and admit what they person successful store for them the remainder of the season. There’s inactive plentifulness of games wherever we’ve got to instrumentality attraction of our concern and putting those 2 guys connected the Giants, I deliberation the thought is to marque definite our guys are performing optimally and connected optimum remainder and each that stuff.”

Five days betwixt starts has astir go “normal” remainder for Dodgers starters. Since Andrew Friedman arrived successful 2015, Dodgers starting pitchers person had much than 4 days’ remainder earlier 64 percent of their starts. This year, it has been 67 of 131 games (through Sunday) — a fig that is muddied immoderate by the fig of ‘bullpen games’ and openers the Dodgers person used.

“I don’t cognize astir that,” Roberts said of 5 days’ remainder being mean for Dodgers starters. “I inactive deliberation that coming disconnected of past twelvemonth … and knowing what guys are taking connected this twelvemonth truthful that whenever you tin springiness them an other day, curtail an inning present oregon determination it conscionable lone seems similar upside. Yeah, we person done that much than successful a mean year. The 5 days astir apt does look much normal.”

It has been for Buehler and Urias, the 2 constants successful the Dodgers’ starting rotation this season. Buehler has had 5 days (or more) earlier 16 of his 26 starts, Urias 16 of 25.

Buehler is 3rd successful the majors successful innings pitched (169) and should walk his erstwhile career-high (182 1/3 successful 2019) soon. Urias (144 2/3 innings) has already acold exceeded his erstwhile highest workload during the regular play (79 2/3 successful 2019).

David Price went 3 2/3 innings successful Saturday’s crippled and would beryllium connected 5 days’ remainder earlier Friday’s bid opener successful San Francisco. Andre Jackson could beryllium recalled, but lone if it is to regenerate idiosyncratic who goes to the IL.

MOOKIE WORK

Mookie Betts was not successful the starting lineup Sunday aft playing 3 consecutive games pursuing his activation from the Injured List connected Thursday. The “three on, 1 off” look volition use with Betts for now, Roberts said, successful bid to debar a recurrence of the hep symptom that sent Betts to the IL twice.

The adjacent disconnected time volition beryllium built successful by the schedule. The Dodgers are disconnected Thursday.

“Then we person a agelong of, I think, 13 consecutive games wherever I’ll astir apt springiness him a mates days off,” Roberts said. “But there’s going to beryllium a constituent wherever we’re conscionable going to tally him retired determination each time due to the fact that he’s the champion enactment and helium understands that.”

Betts was 1 for 9 with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts successful his archetypal 3 games back.

UP AND DOWN

Right-hander Mitch White was added to the roster to marque the commencement Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. Right-hander Edwin Uceta was returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City — a time aft helium was promoted and Jackson was demoted.

Both White and Uceta person gone up and down betwixt the majors and the minors 7 times this play arsenic the Dodgers manipulate their roster to enactment their pitching unit successful the champion imaginable presumption from 1 time to the next. But it’s a hard presumption for young players similar White and Uceta to beryllium in.

“I deliberation a batch of the conversations, to their credit, person been, ‘It’s not show driven,’” Roberts said. “It’s managing the roster and what we request for that day, the days coming. I deliberation successful that consciousness they recognize it and spot what’s benignant of happened this year. Having options is portion of it and that’s portion of the flexibility of a subordinate connected your roster. I deliberation surely the vexation of having to spell up and down erstwhile you privation to instrumentality is real. I recognize that. I’m precise sympathetic towards that.

“It’s not easy. I recognize that. I’ve been successful that presumption (as a player). But the barroom is precocious for america with the Dodgers. You gotta execute and those guys have. But to instrumentality it’s adjacent tougher.”

UP NEXT

Braves (LHP Drew Smyly 9-3, 4.54 ERA) astatine Dodgers (LHP Julio Urias 14-3, 3.39 ERA) Monday 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, ESPN, 570 AM