Chicago struggles another sign Dodgers rushed Bobby Miller's rehab

Bobby Miller's outing against the White Sox on Tuesday was a homecoming. He grew up in McHenry, Ill., north of Chicago, where he pitched well enough in high school to be selected in the 2017 draft as a 38th-round pick by the Orioles, though he (understandably) chose not to sign.

Friends and family were in attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field last night, but they were in for a disappointing night from their guy. Miller only lasted two innings after giving up a two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi and an RBI double to Eloy Jiménez in the first, followed by a single and two walks in the second.

It was Miller's second appearance in Chicago this season, following an April 4 outing against the Cubs at Wrigley, which was worse than his performance against the White Sox. In a game the Dodgers eventually lost 9-7, Miller gave up four hits, two walks, and five earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings before getting pulled.

Both of those starts amount to a 19.63 ERA in Chicago, with a grand total of eight runs (including two homers) allowed, five walks, and just four strikeouts.

Miller currently carries a 8.64 ERA over his last two starts since returning from injury on June 19. He completed four starts in the minors during a rehab assignment — two in Single-A, two in Triple-A — and carried a 7.80 ERA over 13 innings. He didn't look prepared to come back to the bigs then, but his two outings since coming back have only emphasized that. Add in the hometown jitters, and the Dodgers should be filled with a bit of regret (or, at least, as much regret as you can stomach after securing a victory).

Bobby Miller's disappointing start against White Sox proves Dodgers brought him back before he was ready

During his rehab, Miller admitted to feeling "pretty bored" and itching to get back to the majors, but that was after his two Single-A starts, when he gave up seven runs over 6 1/3 innings and only struck out four batters. Maybe it was boredom that led him to not bring his best stuff to those outings against lowly Single-A prospects, but then he gave up seven more runs (six earned) in Triple-A.

His return took place right before Yoshinobu Yamamoto got hurt and Walker Buehler got re-hurt, so at the time, there wasn't as much of a need for more starters in the Dodgers rotation. Now that they are out, his presence might look like a good thing just for numbers' sake, but how valuable is his presence when he's given up 10 hits and eight earned runs against two of the worst teams in baseball since his return?

It doesn't seem like there are any lingering injury issues, but he was looking shaky before he got hurt and now looks even worse. It's unlikely that anything drastic — the Dodgers sending him down, for example — will happen anytime soon, but it's not a great look all-around to have expedited him through rehab just for him to get shelled in the majors.