Day of 'chaos' works out for reliever Jones

Nate Jones didn’t have time for nerves.

When Jones awoke on Friday, he was in Albuquerque, N.M. To his knowledge, he was still a member of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. About 12 hours later, Jones was in San Francisco, pitching in a high-leverage situation for the big league club.

Jones, a 35-year-old veteran, has been around the block for a long while, but it's fair to say his Dodgers debut will be one of those days he remembers for years to come.

"It was surreal, that’s for sure,” Jones said.

Jones described the day, rightfully so, as “chaos.” Upon getting the call, he compiled all his bare necessities and flew to San Francisco, getting to the park about two hours prior to gametime.

Once there, Jones tried as best he could to familiarize himself with as many of his new teammates as possible. He found himself rubbing shoulders with future Hall of Famers Clayton Kershaw and Albert Pujols, All-Stars David Price and Kenley Jansen as well as “good ol’ Kentucky boy” Walker Buehler.

Before day’s end, Jones would play the role of reliever in the literal sense of the word.

After Trevor Bauer successfully became San Francisco’s newest villain, striking out 11 batters across 6 1/3 innings, Jones was tasked with protecting a one-run lead. While the events leading up to Jones' first appearance with Los Angeles were hectic, that he was on the mound wasn’t much of a shock to the veteran, who was informed by the Dodgers prior to the game that they might use him in a high-leverage situation.

Much to Jones’ pleasure, the nerves never really had an opportunity to settle in due to the quick turnaround. That was plenty apparent when Jones pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, serving as a bridge to Blake Treinen in the ninth. Jones’ effort was invaluable for Los Angeles, which employed seven pitchers, including Treinen, in Thursday’s bullpen game.

"The better it is when I don’t have to think,” Jones said. “You just throw me out there and put some signs down and I’ll do my best to get some guys out.”

The last year or so has further taught Jones how to stay prepared. When the sporting world shut down last season, Jones and his father constructed a makeshift bullpen at his home. Jones made do with what he had, using a pitching net with a strike zone as his catcher and lawn chairs as hitters.

After Jones was released by the Braves earlier in May, he returned to the makeshift operation, regularly throwing bullpen sessions to stay prepared. When the Dodgers came calling, Jones was ready to go.

“We had a couple other teams involved, but the Dodgers seemed most enthusiastic and literally said, ‘We want you to be a part of this team,’” Jones said of why he chose the Dodgers. "That means a lot, too, when the team actually cares about you and has done the research and know who you are and what I bring to the table.”

Hello, old friend

On Friday, the Dodgers faced off against Alex Wood, who spent five seasons wearing Dodger blue. On Saturday, another reunion took place, albeit one that few expected.

Scott Kazmir, whose last appearance in the Majors came with the Dodgers in 2016, was called up by the Giants and started against his old team on Saturday, successfully completing his goal of returning back to The Show.

"Credit to Scott. He wants to keep going, feels there’s more in the tank,” said Dave Roberts, who managed Kazmir in his lone season with the Dodgers. “I definitely didn’t expect to see him make a start against us this year, but credit to his perseverance.”

Kazmir, now 37, last took a big league mound as a member of the Dodgers on Sept. 23, 2016. The veteran southpaw started 26 games for Los Angeles, but did not pitch in the postseason due to a late-season injury.

Mookie gets a day

Right fielder Mookie Betts, who had played in all 18 of the Dodgers’ games in the month of May, received a scheduled off-day on Saturday.

Roberts said the decision to give Betts an off-day against the first-place Giants was “difficult,” but cited the importance of thinking long term and emphasizing player health.

Injuries have been rampant around baseball, but especially for the Dodgers. Among those currently on the injured list are Cody Bellinger (left fibula), Corey Seager (hand) and Zach McKinstry (oblique), among a litany of others.

“It’s very worrisome and we’re trying to figure out how best to keep our guys on the field,” Roberts said.