Grove returns, gives Dodgers another rotation option

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers came into Saturday’s game as one of the best teams in the National League. Offensively, they’ve shown they have one of the deepest lineups in the Majors.

But as good as the Dodgers have been through two months in the regular season, the starting pitching has uncharacteristically been the one glaring weakness on this year’s team. It’s something the Dodgers will need to improve moving forward if they want to accomplish their goal of winning another World Series.

That rotation did get another option back on Saturday as Michael Grove made his return to the mound after missing more than a month with a groin injury. Grove allowed four runs and struck out seven over five innings in the Dodgers’ 6-3 loss to the Yankees at Dodger Stadium.

“Overall, really good,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, when asked about Grove. “Thought the fastball command, velocity -- really good. The secondaries were really good.”

Grove’s velocity on his four-seam fastball was the biggest pleasant surprise of the afternoon for the Dodgers. The right-hander was consistently sitting at 97 mph on the heater over the first few innings and touched 98 mph, a first in his big league career. Overall, Grove’s velocity on the four-seamer was 2.5 mph higher than his season average.

“It’s really important,” Grove said. “But it’s not only on the fastball. The breaking stuff is a little harder as well. Every tick that you get, you get a little more confident in throwing the heater.”

Grove’s confidence was certainly on display as he matched a career high with seven strikeouts, including one against Aaron Judge, who stole the show with a homer later in the game and an incredible catch to rob J.D. Martinez of extra bases in the eighth.

Two pitches to Jake Bauers, however, did Grove and the Dodgers in. Bauers hit a two-run homer off a Grove slider in the second inning and belted another two-run homer in the fourth, this time off a Grove heater. The Dodgers have allowed five or more runs in nine of their last 15 games, creating plenty of concern.

“It feels worse in a loss, for sure,” Grove said. “I made a lot of really good pitches and made some bad pitches that I got punished for. Plenty to learn from and plenty to be happy about as well, I guess.”

While the Dodgers certainly welcomed his return, Grove will be in the middle of their evaluations to determine their best options in the rotation. Grove has only made 11 Major League starts, so it’s unfair to assume he’ll fix some of the issues overnight.

So where do the Dodgers go from here? That’s what they’ll try to figure out over the next few weeks.

Dustin May was one of the team’s best starters over the first month, but he will be sidelined until at least after the All-Star break with another right elbow injury. Julio Urías has also been sidelined for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, though the Dodgers hope he returns next weekend against the Phillies. Urías threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday.

Clayton Kershaw bounced back from a rough May with seven dominant innings on Friday. Tony Gonsolin has benefitted from some luck, but he has been the team’s most effective starter since returning from the injured list. Then there’s Noah Syndergaard, whose one-year deal has been a disappointment thus far.

“I think that conversation is gonna happen,” Roberts said pregame, when asked about making decisions about the rotation in the near future. “We know Michael is taking the start today and we’ll see what happens in his next start. Outside of that, it’s gonna be Tony on Tuesday, then Noah and Clayton on Thursday. So once we get to that point, we’ll have to make some decisions.”

But before that happens, Los Angeles will get another look at top pitching prospect Bobby Miller, who has impressed in his first two big league outings. Even with their pitching struggles, the Dodgers have a chance to pick up another series win behind Miller on Sunday.