Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling is 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA in his first major league season. (Associated Press photo)
Rich Hill won’t make his Dodgers debut Friday after all.
Hill played catch yesterday to test the blister on his left middle finger. Though he didn’t throw off a mound as planned, Hill believed he’d be ready in time to start the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said that Hill will need more time before he’s activated from the disabled list. Ross Stripling will start Friday’s game instead.
“We don’t have a date on when Rich is going to pitch for us,” Roberts said, “but we do know that Ross will start on Friday.”
Hill has already had one start scratched for precautionary reasons since the Dodgers acquired him from the Oakland A’s at the trade deadline. The left-hander hasn’t pitched in a game since July 7.
“I think that if we weren’t winning baseball games (our frustration with Hill’s situation) might be a little more enhanced,” Roberts said. “Rich is doing everything he can. There’s only so much you can do. It’s the hand he’s dealt and we’re dealing with it.”
Stripling, 26, is 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 games (nine starts) in his first major league season. In his most recent start, the right-hander threw five shutout innings Saturday against Boston.
Brandon McCarthy‘s Saturday start isn’t assured either, Roberts said. The right-hander was plagued by wildness — he threw four fastballs to the screen, walked five and hit a batter Sunday — and will throw another bullpen session tomorrow to figure out if he’s ready.
“Some of it has to do with Mac and how he feels. The other component is what Honey (Rick Honeycutt, the Dodgers’ pitching coach) and I see with this pen as far as pitch execution. So we’ll weigh those factors.”
Roberts said that rookie left-hander Julio Urias is an option to start Saturday, with left-hander Brett Anderson a possibility for Sunday.
Anderson threw five innings in a rehab game Monday for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is eligible to be activated from the 60-day disabled list at any time.
