While it initially appeared that former Philadelphia Phillies farmhand Garrett Cleavinger could replace three-time National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw — who is headed to the injured list — as the Los Angeles Dodgers starter Friday, it will instead be Walker Buehler.
MLB.com‘s Juan Toribio notes that while Buehler was slated to start on Saturday, the two-time All-Star has been bumped up a night. The 27-year-old last pitched in a 7-1 Dodgers win Sunday over the Chicago Cubs, so he will take the ball Friday evening on full rest.
Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the collective media — including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic — that Julio UrÃas has been pushed up to start on Saturday instead of Sunday. After leading baseball with 20 wins a season ago, UrÃas is off to another strong start, as he has a 2.10 ERA and 3.79 FIP in his first six starts of the 2022 season.
The Dodgers don’t yet know who will pitch for them in Sunday’s series finale. You wonder if the fact that the Dodgers know that Bryce Harper won’t be in the lineup Sunday — the day he’s slated to get a PRP injection into his injured right elbow — factored at all into the decision to bump two of their top starts up a day.
Before Game 2 of the Phillies’ weekend series with the Dodgers, here are a few more notes to consider:
- Jean Segura isn’t in the lineup for the Phillies Friday evening, but it appears to be more of a case of load management than anything. Joe Girardi said that the Phillies are giving the 32-year-old a day off because he’s had a heavy workload this year and did deal with some lower body injuries a year ago, per Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Seugra had IL stints in 2022 because of injuries to his left hamstring and right quad a year ago, so not running him into the ground probably makes sense. If the right situation presents itself, Segura could come off the bench as a pinch hitter Friday night.
- Bryson Stott will start at shortstop Friday evening, with Johan Camargo playing second base in Segura’s absence. Given that both Didi Gregorius and Segura can become free agents after the 2022 season — the Phillies have a $17 million club option for Segura in 2023 — it would be in the best interests of the organization to figure out of Stott can be a full-time middle infielder at the major league level. He’s hitting just .111 in his first 45 at-bats, but hasn’t been given the chance to play consistently.
- Coffey also noted that the Phillies hope that Mickey Moniak will begin live batting practice on Monday. The former No. 1 overall pick had been in line to be the Opening Day center fielder, but that was before he broke his right hand in his final Spring Training at-bat. Earlier this month, we discussed the uncertain role Moniak will have when he’s healthy again, given that both he and Odúbel Herrera are left-handed hitters.
- Kyle Gibson, who will start for the Phillies Friday night, has a 2.94 ERA and 3.63 FIP across his first six starts of the 2022 season. It’s hard to ask for much more than that out of a back-end-of-the-rotation starter. The 34-year-old is in a contract year.
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