Darvish expected to miss next start
DETROIT – The Dodgers plan to skip Yu Darvish’s start next week in Pittsburgh because of lingering concern about the tightness in his back.
Darvish exited his Dodger Stadium debut after six innings Wednesday when his back locked up, and manager Dave Roberts indicated the team wants to be cautious about Darvish’s condition.
“Yu feels like he can physically go,” Roberts said. “But I think as an organization, we’re trying to really do what’s best for him. And if there’s any kind of thought to his back being sore or stiff, for us to run him out there doesn’t make much sense, where we’re at.”
Darvish will be placed on the disabled list. Edward
Paredes, a left-handed reliever, joined the Dodgers in Detroit before Saturday’s game against the Tigers.
Brock Stewart is expected to start in Darvish’s place on Tuesday against the Pirates. Roberts was hopeful that Darvish would miss only one start.
Darvish struck out 20 batters in his first two starts with the Dodgers, but failed to replicate those numbers against the White Sox on Wednesday, finishing with two strikeouts. Never before had he struck out fewer than three batters in a big-league start.
Darvish released a statement through the team’s media relations department on his condition, and backed up Roberts’ version of events.
“My initial reaction after the last outing was that I felt like I could make the next start,” Darvish said in the statement. “However, after talking to the team and consulting with the doctor, I understand their concern and I respect that opinion. I will make sure to get treatment and rest to get ready for my next start.”
Dayton injures elbow during rehab
Grant Dayton, who emerged as the team’s primary left-handed reliever late in 2016, has experienced another setback in 2017. Dayton felt pain in his elbow while warming up before a rehabilitation assignment outing with double-A Tulsa, Roberts said, and did not appear in the game.
Dayton, who was rehabbing a lingering neck injury, flew back to Los Angeles on Saturday morning and will undergo an MRI exam.
As a rookie in 2016, Dayton struck out 13.3 batters per nine innings with a 2.05 earned-run average. He has been unable to repeat that production this year, striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings with an unappealing 1.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while watching his ERA rise to 4.94.
The Dodgers acquired Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani at the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline to bolster the bullpen’s left-handed contingent.
Luis Avilan is the other left-hander among the group.