Dodgers get pleasant surprise in spot starter

SAN FRANCISCO -- Over the years, the Dodgers have consistently prioritized giving every starter an extra day of rest every turn through the rotation. In fact, it has become far more rare for a starter to pitch on normal four days’ rest.

The reason behind that strategy is simple. The Dodgers play into October every season, and that’s their goal once again in 2024. By the time they get to the postseason, they want all their starters to be healthy and as fresh as possible. In order to do that, however, the Dodgers sometimes have to deploy a bullpen game or have an unusual spot starter come up from the Minors.

On Wednesday, the Dodgers called on Elieser Hernández to make his first start with the organization. The right-hander fared well, allowing three runs over six innings, but the Dodgers fell to the Giants, 4-1, at Oracle Park.

“Elieser threw the ball really well,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Just giving us length, and then being able to go to [Eduardo Salazar] for two innings to reset everyone, it was huge. After six [games] in a row, I think we’re in a good spot going home against the Reds.”

Coming into the series against the Giants, the Dodgers, who are in the middle of playing 13 consecutive games without an off-day, knew they were going to need pitching help for the finale. After Tuesday’s win, the Dodgers huddled around Roberts’ office to try and figure out who it would be.

The easy decision would have been to start Ryan Yarbrough, who is the best length guy in the bullpen and has plenty of experience starting games. Yarbrough, however, pitched twice over the weekend in San Diego, making him unavailable for significant length. The same applies for Michael Grove, who also came up as a starter, but hasn’t pitched more than two innings in an outing since April 17.

Another option could have been to trot out a handful of relievers and trying to mix and match their way through a game. That option, of course, burns a couple relievers, which is what the Dodgers were trying to avoid.

In the end, the Dodgers elected to select the contract of Hernández and recalled Salazar from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Both pitchers answered the bell, taking down all eight innings and allowing just four runs, keeping the offense within striking distance.

Even with just using depth arms, the Dodgers’ pitching staff extended its franchise record of allowing four or fewer runs to 22 consecutive games. That is tied with the 1924 Senators for the fourth-longest such single-season streak in the live-ball era (since 1920). The 2017 Guardians hold the all-time record, with 25 consecutive games.

“They told me last night that I was going to start, and I just came here really positive that I was going to do my job tonight,” Hernández, who will stay on the active roster moving forward, said in Spanish. “The work I did with [catcher Will Smith], we were on the same page the entire night. All of my pitches were working really well.”

Had the Dodgers’ offense gotten off to a strong start, Roberts said he would have managed the bullpen a bit differently. Los Angeles’ high-powered offense had a chance in the first inning against the Giants’ ace, Logan Webb.

The Dodgers loaded up the bases with one out, but Webb struck out Max Muncy -- who is 1-for-9 with a homer and six strikeouts in bases-loaded situations this year -- before Teoscar Hernández lined out to right to end the threat. After that, Webb was able to settle down and get through six scoreless innings.

“I thought we did a pretty good job to get his pitch count up early,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “We had many opportunities tonight. Big hit eluded us.”