Dodgers: Inside the clubhouse news, notes, and analysis

Recapping your Dodger news and notes from Tuesday night’s win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Injury Notes:

Brandon McCarthy who was placed on the Disabled List on Monday said in his pre-game press conference that he dislocated his non-throwing shoulder in the weight room. McCarthy said he was fully prepared to pitch on Monday, but the team decided it was best for him to rest his shoulder.

Rich Hill’s rehab start was moved to today, Wednesday with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Hill left his first rehab start after only retiring two batters needed 29 pitches. Hill did not leave his first start due to injury and threw a 30 pitch bullpen session after being removed from the game. He’s expected to throw 5 innings and be near the 75 pitch mark today. If all goes well, Hill could join the team in the middle of the week next week

Logan Forsythe will not be activated until after the Colorado and San Francisco series after suffering a setback last week. Today he was seen on the field at Dodgers Stadium hitting soft toss before the game.

Andrew Toles injured his right leg chasing a foul ball down the left-field line. Toles was able to walk off under his own power, and the X-rays came back negative. But Toles is scheduled to have an MRI sometime today. The Dodgers fear it could be an ACL injury. At this point, a DL stint for Toles is likely based on the ways the Dodgers have been handling their injuries this season and their surplus of outfielders.

** Update 3:40 pm, Toles will have surgery on a torn right ACL according to Ken Gurnick **

Club Notes:

Julio Urias will be the 10th Dodger bobblehead giveaway on September 26th against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers claimed left-handed pitcher Justin Marks from the Tampa Bay Rays and transferred Andre Ethier to the 60-day DL.

Hyun-Jin Ryu will be activated from the DL and start the opening game of a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. Thursday will kick off the first of seven games on this road trip.

Last night Yasmani Grandal hit his first home run since April 23rd against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Analysis:

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The biggest news is the injury to platoon left-fielder, Andrew Toles. Toles has been a steady part of the Dodgers this season and has taken on the leadoff duties since Forsythe went down with a foot injury. Toles has a unique combination of speed and power at the leadoff spot for the Dodgers, and there’s no doubt this will be yet another speed bump on the road for the Dodgers.

On the bright side, if any team is equipped to sustain an injury to their starting outfield it would be the Dodgers. There’s been a lot of discussion going around about the Dodgers having too many viable outfield starters for only three starting spots. But the Dodgers are very well in position to prevail through Toles’ injury.

In all likelihood, Toles will be heading to the DL, and the Franklin Gutierrez would assume the starting role against left-handers and possibly a mixture of Kike Hernandez or Chase Utley could see more starts when the Dodgers face a right-hander. This would mean either playing Hernandez at left or moving Bellinger from 1st to left and have Utley start at first.

Another possible scenario could be the Dodgers recalling Scott Van Slyke or Rob Segedin should he be healthy. The news certainly isn’t good, but it’s not the end of the world, and the Dodgers can prevail.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is expected to be activated from the DL without making a rehab start. He’ll pitch in Coors field for the second time this season. Just before Ryu went on the DL, he showed flashes of his first two seasons with the Dodgers. Ryu will have a tall task ahead of him, but it will be a good indicator of how healthy he is.

Next: Dodgers Need to Trade an Outfielder

Tonight the Dodgers try for the sweep and their fifth consecutive win. A sweep would be huge before heading to Colorado in a battle for first place.