Dodgers to skip Billingsley’s turn in rotation
The L.A. Dodgers and San Francisco Giants begin a huge series this weekend, with the Giants basically needing a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive. L.A., meanwhile, maintains a five-game lead in the NL West over Colorado, so it has some importance for the Dodgers as well.
Thus the news that Dodgers manager Joe Torre is skipping presumed ace Chad Billingsley’s spot in the rotation this weekend should send up some warning flags for L.A. long-term backers on WagerWeb.com.
Billingsley, who struggled in his last outing Sunday at San Francisco, is not expected to return to the mound until Sept. 23 at Washington. That would give him 10 days between starts.
“We just told him we need to get him straightened out, whether it be a game or an inning or whatever it is, we need to get him in the right direction,” Torre said.
Billingsley, 25, is 12-10 with a 3.99 ERA. But he has gone nearly a month without a win, losing his last four decisions, including Sunday against the Giants in San Francisco. His last victory was Aug. 18 against St. Louis. Over his last 12 starts, Billingsley’s ERA has grown from 3.14 to 3.99, and he’s gone 3-6 in those games. Billingsley was available out of the bullpen Wednesday against the Pirates in a game started by Hiroki Kuroda, but wasn’t needed.
So L.A.’s rotation this weekend will be Vicente Padilla on Friday, Jon Garland on Saturday and Randy Wolf on Sunday – bet on the Giants-Dodgers series at WagerWeb.com. If Billingsley started on his regular turn, he would have started Saturday’s game.
Billingsley has 14 appearances against the Giants in his career with a 3.50 ERA. Torre said he tapped Garland for Saturday partly because he has “had maybe a little more success against the Giants than Bills has.” Garland is 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in two career starts against the Giants.
If L.A. doesn’t get Billingsley right by the playoffs, the Dodgers won’t be returning to the National League Championship Series again this year.
MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
