John Ely, Ramon Ortiz to make starts for Dodgers
The Dodgers’ oft-changing pitching rotation took another twist Monday with the return of rookie right-hander John Ely and plans for Ramon Ortiz to get another start.
Ely, recalled from triple-A Albuquerque to replace injured knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, was scheduled to start Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
He’ll be followed by Hiroki Kuroda on Wednesday, then the Dodgers have a day off Thursday before starting a three-game series in San Diego against the Padres on Friday.
Ortiz, who mainly has been used in relief, is scheduled to start Friday to give mainstay starters Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley an extra day of rest, Manager Joe Torre said Monday. So Kershaw will start Saturday and Billingsley on Sunday.
In addition, Torre said “it’s safe to say” that Ely is “going to get the ball every five or six days.”
As expected, the Dodgers said Monday that Haeger was put on the 15-day disabled list. They said he had plantar fasciitis, a swelling of tissue, in his right heel. That enabled the Dodgers to quickly recall Ely, who pitched well in only his second major league start last week, but was demoted to the minors because reliever Jeff Weaver came off the disabled list.
Ely, who turns 24 on Thursday, said Monday that he never left Southern California — he had 72 hours to report to Albuquerque — before getting word to return to the Dodgers.
“Physically and mentally I’m ready to go,” Ely said.
As for Haeger’s heel, Torre said he was told by trainers “that it has been bothering Charlie” but that Haeger “didn’t let on a lot about it before the other day.”
Asked whether the injury had affected Haeger’s pitching — the right-hander faced only five batters in his last start and gave up five earned runs — Torre replied: “He keeps saying no because he doesn’t want to use that as an excuse. It’s up to us to make the excuse for him.”
Carroll’s contribution
Veteran Jamey Carroll, who mainly has been filling in at shortstop for injured Rafael Furcal, batted .333 (11 for 33) in the Dodgers’ just-completed homestand.
“He’s just been nothing but terrific for us,” Torre said.
Carroll said, “I’ve gotten kind of lucky the last few games; a ball hit off the glove and snuck in an infield hit in the game the other night, so I wouldn’t say I’m ripping the cover off the ball. But I’m trying to get in there and compete and hold the fort down until Raffie gets back.”
Furcal is scheduled to rejoin the team Friday in San Diego after rehabilitation games Tuesday and Wednesday with the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate in San Bernardino, Torre said.
And finally
Kershaw’s brilliant victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday marked only his second win in 20 starts and 22 outings overall dating to July 24.
In his previous 19 starts, and 21 outings, Kershaw was 1-6 with 14 no-decisions. Two of those appearances — one in relief, one a start — came in last year’s playoffs.
During those 19 starts, he pitched as many as seven innings only four times. Before the streak, Kershaw had victories in three consecutive starts.
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