What's next after Syndergaard's latest start

CINCINNATI -- The Dodgers’ rotation is finally getting healthy, with Julio Urías expected to return from the injured list to start on Sunday.

But with manager Dave Roberts saying that the team will not use a six-man rotation, someone has to be the odd man out in the next turn. And after yet another poor start, Noah Syndergaard is the odd man out after the club on Thursday placed him on the 15-day injured list because of a blister on his right index finger. In a corresponding move, right-hander Tayler Scott was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The veteran right-hander, whom the Dodgers brought in on a one-year, $13 million contract this winter, gave up six runs on seven hits over three innings in an 8-6 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

It was the third straight start and fifth overall this season that Syndergaard has given up at least five runs, and he has gone eight straight outings without a quality start. His ERA now sits at 7.16, highest in baseball among pitchers with at least as many innings as him (55 1/3).

“Just really poor execution and consistency with my pitches,” Syndergaard said. “I feel like I threw a lot of really good pitches, but the mistakes I made, they capitalized on. When it rains, it pours. It’s just kind of hard to stop the bleeding right now. I’m running out of words to explain what’s going on.”

Syndergaard has had to deal with a lot this season already. A blister on his right index finger cut short his May 9 start after one inning. He’s largely shelved his signature slider for a cutter in hopes of reworking his pitch mix. But the results haven’t been there through 12 starts.

“He’s been going through it all year,” Roberts said. “It’s not from a lack of effort, preparation or care. But it’s just not working. I know there’s things with that blister that he’s had to deal with and he certainly doesn’t want to make excuses for. I know there was a fingernail break tonight that he’s not going to make excuses for. And he understands it’s about performance.

“We’re going to be sitting down with him and try to figure out if this is something that -- obviously, I don’t think that we can kind of sustain at this pace of performance, so I don’t know, it might be an opportunity to give him a chance to get this finger thing taken care of, a reset. Because it’s certainly, in my opinion, impeding performance.”

There were some silver linings for Syndergaard, who struck out three without issuing a walk. He felt like his delivery was trending in the right direction after previously feeling like his mechanics had two separate movements. His changeup got four whiffs on 11 swings -- even if it was his only pitch working on the night.

Still, this period of self-professed dart-throwing to see what sticks has been the toughest stretch of his career.

“Yeah, by a longshot,” Syndergaard said. “I’ve never had to deal with this before. But I’m still optimistic I can overcome it. When I do, I’ll have the answer for a lot of other guys who are struggling through this as well. So just got to roll with the punches and continue to be determined every time I try to get better with throwing the baseball.”

The Dodgers clearly believe in Syndergaard’s upside, given the size of the contract he signed. And placing him on the IL due to maladies on that throwing hand may be the best way to get him back on track without totally moving on. Some time off could be beneficial, as Roberts said the emotional side is weighing heavily on the 30-year-old.

“There’s not a guy in the clubhouse that doesn’t feel for Noah right now. Not one guy,” Roberts said. “He’s a fantastic teammate, and I’m feeling it. We’re trying to turn over all the stones and try to find answers, but we can’t come up with an answer. So that just sort of leads us to, what do we do now? That’s kind of where we’re at.”