SAN DIEGO — Sitting in the Petco Park visiting dugout Monday afternoon, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes would have preferred to be answering a different set of questions about the team’s rotation depth.
In spring training, it was all about how many difficult decisions the Dodgers had in front of them because of the quality depth they’d built. In the first couple months of the season, a spike of injuries had completely flipped the conversation.
“It’s the reason why you try to go in with as much depth as you can knowing that things can happen,” Gomes said before the Dodgers’ 1-0 loss to the Padres. “You hope that they don’t pile up all at the same time, which has happened as of late. But we’ll keep navigating it. We’ll work through it like we have in the past.”
“The biggest thing is we’ve got a big series these three games. Go out and play good baseball here and then keep balancing the short-term, long-term.”
It was the first meeting between the National League West rivals, who are neck and neck at the top of the division standings. And with the loss, the Dodgers (29-19) fell half a game back of the Padres (29-18), after squandering two separate opportunities with speedy Hyeseong Kim standing on third base with two out, and stranding men on first and second in the ninth.
“Beat L.A.” chants broke out in the last two innings.
With the margins so slim between the two teams, pitching injuries loomed large as the Dodgers’ biggest roadblock in their pursuit of the division title.
Gomes provided updates on the Dodgers’ mounting injuries, and how the team is combating the absences:
—The Dodgers expect left-hander Blake Snell will undergo the less invasive NanoNeedle Scope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow Tuesday. The procedure could shorten Snell’s recovery time by a month, compared to a more traditional arthroscopic procedure.
—Right-hander Tyler Glasnow had another back flare-up. He’ll be shut down from throwing for a few days. “No concern long term,” Gomes said. “But a little slower on the front end than we expected.”
—The Dodgers are leaning toward using Eric Lauer as a starter. They have not yet decided where to slot him in, but it probably won’t be this weekend in Milwaukee.
—Right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol (right shoulder surgery recovery) sustained a back injury while on rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City. The team is still working to determine next steps and has not ruled out surgery.
—The Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Jonathan Hernández, optioned right-hander Chayce McDermott, and transferred right-hander Ben Casparius to the 60-day IL.
The Dodgers’ situation is reminiscent of their rash of pitching injuries last season, when they won the division with a 93-69 record, three games up on the Padres, but still had to play in the wild-card round.
On Monday, the teams looked pretty evenly matched in a pitcher’s duel between the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Padres’ Michael King.
The only blemish on Yamamoto’s seven-inning night was designated hitter Miguel Andujar’s solo home run in the first inning, one of only three hits. But King was even better, tossing seven shutout innings.
“This series gets emotional, gets heightened,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday afternoon. “They’re going to play their best against us and we’re going to do the same. The team that plays the best sound, fundamental baseball will win this series. I’m looking forward to that.”
The Dodgers’ rotation is set for the rest of the series, with right-hander Emmet Sheehan taking the mound Tuesday and Shohei Ohtani set to pitch (and likely hit as well) on Wednesday, the division lead hanging in the balance.
The Dodgers’ off day Thursday before a three-game series against the Brewers could allow them to stick with five starters this turn through the rotation while still keeping them on a six-day schedule. During the homestand, they’d need a sixth starter to avoid having any of them throw on four days’ rest.
“Part of the thinking is to not create this domino effect of chasing our tails,” Gomes said. “Trying to maintain a similar schedule as we’ve had, and when we can get guys extra days’ rest, do it. If we don’t need it, and we’re trying to line things up a different way, just maintain the flexibility to be able to do that.”
Once Lauer is past his travel complications and joins the team, the Dodgers think they can pull out a better version of him than the one that’s already given up 11 home runs this season.
“We know the makeup is really good,” Gomes said. “And we’re looking forward to getting our hands on him and helping him be as successful as he’s been in the past.”
The fact that Roki Sasaki, who authored the best start of his MLB career against the Angels over the weekend, and Sheehan have shown developmental strides as the year’s gone on will also help mitigate the effects of Snell and Glasnow’s absences. Once right-hander River Ryan builds back up, after a minor-league IL stint, he’ll add to the Dodgers’ once-robust pitching depth.
“We’ve dealt with this in the past,” Gomes said.
And it won’t be the last time the Dodgers deal with it.
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