Stults To The Rescue

Written by: Brandon Wahl on 11th April 2009

Stults To The Rescue | read this item

I have long been a supporter of Eric Stults, but not at the expense of the Opening Day starter…

Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle, and Eric Stults will be recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to start Saturday for the Dodgers against the Diamondbacks.

Kuroda, who felt tightness below a rib near the end of his bullpen session Wednesday, loosened up with some long toss four hours before Friday’s game. He then moved to the bullpen to throw off the mound in the presence of trainer Stan Conte and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, but he made only a handful of throws before shutting it down.

Manager Joe Torre said Kuroda lobbied hard to start Saturday, but he was disabled as a precautionary measure. Torre said Kuroda might have made the start if it had been a postseason situation.

“He wanted to pitch, but that’s not the safe thing,” Torre said. “He didn’t feel good about it, but he understands the decision for the safety factor. Losing him for a couple of starts or whatever is better than something never going away. He’s liable to hurt something else [pitching with it]. That didn’t seem like the safe thing to do.”

Myself and fellow contributors to this site will be in attendance at the game tonight in Arizona, though no one seems to be excited abouting watching Stults. If you had told me three months ago that we would be taking a road trip to AZ to watch Eric Stults pitch, it’s safe to say no one would have believe it to be for the sixth game of the regular season. “Isn’t Spring Training over,” notes Matt.

When the offense isn’t coming through, you have to rely on pitching to keep you in games. And given the way Eric Stults pitched during Spring Training (9.49 ERA) someone better tell Manny Ramirez that Casey Blake isn’t suppose to be leading the team in home runs.

———-

Here goes nothing, courtesy of dodgers.com…

Eric Stults, Los Angeles Dodgers (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Hiroki Kuroda was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a mild oblique strain, so Stults gets the promotion from Triple-A and the start against the Diamondbacks. Stults lost out to James McDonald in the competition for the fifth starter’s spot. He had a rough spring, dealing with the death of his mother just before heading for Arizona. In six Spring Training appearances, Stults had a 9.49 ERA with four strikeouts and eight walks in 9 1/3 innings.

Yusmeiro Petit, Arizona Diamondbacks (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Petit is starting in place of Brandon Webb, who was scratched because of stiffness in his shoulder. Webb told reporters after giving up six runs in just four innings on Opening Day that his shoulder stiffened up after the third inning. Petit was used in a swing role last year, pitching in long relief when needed, but also making several spot starts much like this one. Overall he appeared in 19 games with eight starts. The right-hander does not have overpowering stuff but has a good feel for pitching, and excellent control.

Share on Tumblr