The fallout from last night's debacle was handed down today by Major League Baseball. Clayton Kershaw was suspended for five games for hitting Aaron Rowand in the seventh inning, and Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer were suspended for one game each.Kershaw plans to appeal his suspension.
Torre will serve his suspension tonight, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, while Schaefer will serve his tomorrow night. Somebody please double-check those lineup cards tonight.
Speaking of last night, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke to an MLB official who said the umpires erred in the ninth inning last night:
The official said that the rule requiring a pitcher to be removed after two mound visits should have been superseded by a comment underneath Rule 8.06 that says if two mound visits occur while the same batter is up, the umpires must eject the manager and require the pitcher to face that batter. Only then, should the pitcher be removed.
The mistake was discovered as the umpiring crew engaged in its normal postmortem with league umpiring evaluators.
Had the Dodgers protested the game, there is a chance the protest would have been upheld, and the game replayed. But the league official said the Dodgers neglected to protest the game.
Chad Billingsley and Barry Zito have started against one another twice before. Last May, the Giants broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the seventh inning off Billingsley, handing him his first loss of the season while giving Zito his first win. This year, on June 28, both allowed two runs in six innings in a game won by a two-run home run by Casey Blake in the eighth inning.
Left-handed reliever Jack Taschner has had his contract purchased by the Dodgers, per Hernandez. A.J. Ellis was optioned to Triple A Albuquerque to make room for Taschner.
Taschner was signed to a minor league deal on June 28, and pitched 10 games in Albuquerque, allowing four runs, all solo home runs, while walking nobody and striking out four.
The Dodgers are now carrying 13 pitchers, including three southpaw relievers, and there are 39 players on the 40-man roster, not including Ronald Belisario.
Notes
- Blake has struggled since that home run 23 days ago, with nine hits in 55 at-bats, hitting just .164/.266/.273
- The Dodger bullpen since the All-Star break has 16 walks and just six strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings
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Rafael Furcal has 16 hits in 31 at-bats against the Giants this season, hitting .516/.571/.839
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Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket