OAKLAND — Alex Wood, not Mat Latos, will start for the Dodgers on Wednesday against the A’s. Latos is available out of the bullpen tonight and will be for the duration of the road trip, manager Don Mattingly said.
Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke will both be able to pitch in the Dodgers’ next series against the San Francisco Giants now, a three-gamer at Dodger Stadium beginning Aug. 31. The two aces would have missed the series entirely had Mattingly not skipped someone’s turn in the rotation.
“It’s really been more about maximizing their starts,” Mattingly said of Kershaw and Greinke. “Obviously we’re going to use it to try to match up but you’ve got to win games no matter what. We play the Cubs four times right before that too and every game is important. You’re really trying to maximize starts and put everybody in the best position. Obviously it doesn’t hurt that we’re able to get guys lined up.”
The Dodgers have an off-day Thursday and another Monday, which will allow them to use four starters until Aug. 31.
Latos has been a disaster since the Dodgers traded for him on July 30. The right-hander has allowed 12 runs in 14 ⅔ innings in three starts. His earned-run average for the season is up to 4.81.
“Obviously part of that is giving him a chance to continue to work, keep working on things,” Mattingly said, “but again to be 100 percent honest it’s all about getting Zack and Clayton lined up, that they’re going to maximize these off-days, and not really skip them, wait seven days to pitch.”
Mattingly said that Latos took the news well.
“Obviously Mat’s a pro and understands that you’re going to try to line up your rotation the best way possible. We kind of acknowledged that he hasn’t pitched his best to this point. It gives him a chance to kind of work on what he’s doing and just be ready to go when we get there, because obviously we’re still going to need him.”