Dodgers to use off days to rest, shuffle starting rotation

The Dodgers end their run of 20 games in 20 days on Wednesday, then will use a pair of off days to rearrange the starting pitching rotation, manager Don Mattingly said on Sunday. What it likely means is that Matt Magill, who started Sunday against the Braves, won't be needed again any time soon.

Magill walked six and allowed seven runs in just 3⅔ innings on Sunday, and on the season has more walks (28) than innings (27⅔) and strikeouts (26).

The Dodgers will start Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu against the Diamondbacks beginning Monday, then will have Thursday off before a weekend series in Pittsburgh. The Dodgers also have an off day on Monday, June 17, right after the series against the Pirates, before opening a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.

Mattingly said he would use one off day to give his starting pitchers an extra day of rest, and another off day to maneuver the order of his rotation a little bit.

"We're getting near the end of a stretch here where nobody's had an extra day, and we have another one on the back side of this," Mattingly said.

The wild card in this equation is Chris Capuano, who is technically eligible to return from the disabled list on Friday. But the Dodgers might have him start a different day depending on how they want the order of the rotation going forward.

"We've been talking about the rotation and how to fit guys in," Mattingly said. "Capuano has been going forward without any issues. We're getting confident in picking a date when he'll be ready."

Depending on their confidence in Capuano's return next weekend, the Dodgers could choose to option Magill to Triple-A Albuquerque after Sunday's game and bring up either an extra reliever or bench player for a few games until Capuano is ready to be activated.