The Los Angeles Dodgers, for the first time all season, are seeing their rotation shake-up with the return of lefty Blake Snell.
Snell, who has missed the start of the season with shoulder discomfort, will be pitching for the first time all year on Saturday, May 9th.
Snell has been diligently working his way back from his shoulder problem, with a handful of rehabilitation appearances.
He has made two starts in Single-A with the Ontario Tower Buzzers and one outing for the Oklahoma City Comets in Triple-A.
The return of Snell on Saturday means Roki Sasaki will not pitch against the Braves, according to manager Dave Roberts, with Snell taking his place in the order.
Emmet Sheehan will be pitching on Friday, Snell takes the mound for his bobblehead night on Saturday, and then on Sunday, Justin Wrobleski takes the rubber.
Finally, on Monday, for the Dodgers’ series opener against the San Francisco Giants, Sasaki is set to take the mound.
Tyler Glasnow’s status remains unknown
After Sasaki, Yamamoto will likely pitch on Tuesday, and Ohtani will take over on Wednesday; however, all eyes will be on Thursday, when Glasnow is penciled in to start again if he is healthy.
Glasnow left his last outing after the first inning due to back spasms, and while his latest examination did not reveal any damage, the Dodgers are having Paul Gervase, a minor league pitcher on the 40-man roster, float around if the team needs him.
The Dodgers are taking a wait-and-see approach with Glasnow, letting him feel himself out through the injury to determine his status for Thursday.
After his outing, Glasnow did not seem overly concerned with the injury.
“It kind of just gives out,” he said. “I’ve gotten it since high school. Being tall, I guess. I get it a couple times a year.
“Just a warm-up pitch and it gave out. I tried to throw another one and it just was like too hard to bend over. But it’s not too serious. I’ve had this a few times. Just one of those things where it’s thrown out. Once it feels better, it feels better. It shouldn’t be too long.”
If Glasnow does go on the injured list, the team’s next rotation shake-up will only be delayed, as eventually, one of Sheehan, Wrobleski, and Sasaki will need to make way.