Dodgers’ Travis Schlichting earns first major league victory
The last time Travis Schlichting pitched four innings was in the Arizona Fall League two years ago.
And before that?
“High school,” he said.
But that was how many innings Schlichting pitched in his season debut Wednesday on his way to earning his first major league victory in the Dodgers’ 14-inning, 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Schlichting pitched his tail off,” Manager Joe Torre said of the 25-year-old reliever who was summoned from triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday.
Schlichting entered the game in the 11th inning.
With no one warming up in the Dodgers’ bullpen, Schlichting had men on first and second with two outs in the 12th inning. He forced Chris Young to ground out to third.
Two innings later, he walked Justin Upton to put men on first and second with one out. He got Adam LaRoche and Rusty Ryal to fly out to center.
Schlichting said he feels far more comfortable than he did a year ago when appearing in two games in his first major league stint.
“Maybe the nerves got to me a little bit,” he said.
Strong start by Monasterios
Carlos Monasterios said he learned his lesson.
“Next time, I won’t do anything,” he said.
Monasterios held the Diamondbacks to two hits over five scoreless innings in his third start of the season, which was cut short by a blister on the middle finger.
Monasterios said he wanted to continue pitching and that he didn’t alert any of the coaches or trainers about the bubble of liquid forming on his finger. But pitching coach Rick Honeycutt noticed him rubbing his fingers as he sat in the dugout, ending any ambitions he had of pitching into the sixth inning.
Like John Ely, Monasterios has been a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers, who selected him in a Rule 5 draft over the winter. The 24-year-old had no major league experience until this season and was kept on the roster more because of his potential than what he could offer in the near future. (If Rule 5 draftees aren’t on the major league roster for their entire first season with their new clubs, they must be offered back to their former teams.)
Monasterios’ latest performance dropped his season earned-run average to 1.87.
Braves expected to provide test
The Dodgers will open a four-game series Thursday against the Atlanta Braves, who matched their 20-8 record in May. The Braves’ season record of 31-22 also matches the Dodgers’.
Torre said he is curious to get his first in-person view of rookie outfielder Jason Heyward, in large part because of the praise Heyward has drawn from Braves Manager Bobby Cox. Heyward is batting .287 with 10 home runs and 38 runs batted in.
“Bobby doesn’t throw compliments around easily, and when he started talking about him in the spring, that got my attention,” Torre said.
Short hops
Dodgers pitchers have not allowed a run in their last 31 innings. The scoreless streak is the longest for the Dodgers since they pitched 37 consecutive shutout innings from July 24-28, 1991.… Casey Blake extended his hitting streak to nine games.… Russell Martin was out of the lineup but ended up catching four innings.
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