Julio Urias to start Thursday against the Nationals

The Dodgers will bring back pitcher Julio Urias to start Thursday's series finale against the Nationals in Washington D.C., manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Tuesday night's series opener, as the club tries to scramble to fill its starting rotation.

Hyun-jin Ryu, the original scheduled Wednesday starter, was placed on the disabled list on Tuesday with elbow tendonitis, and ace Clayton Kershaw is still feeling discomfort in his back and won't rejoin the rotation anytime soon.

Bud Norris was originally slated for Thursday's start, but will now start Wednesday instead. By moving the open date to Thursday for Urias, the Dodgers get to carry both a five-man bench and eight-man bullpen for the first two games of the series against the Nationals.

Urias had a 4.95 ERA in eight major league starts this season for the Dodgers, with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 36⅓ innings.

It will be interesting to see how deep Urias will be able to pitch on Thursday, since he was moved to the bullpen in Triple-A Oklahoma City in an effort to limit his innings and also prepare him for a possible relief role with the Dodgers later in the season.

Urias last pitched for the Dodgers on July 4, and his only appearance back with Oklahoma City came on July 10, and lasted all of one inning. Thursday is July 21, so he will be on 10 days rest and will have thrown a total of one inning in a game in the previous 16 days before his start against the Nationals.

This will be the fifth time in nine big league starts that Urias will have faced a first-place team, including allowing two runs in five innings in a no-decision against the Nationals on June 22 at Dodger Stadium, with six strikeouts and one walk.

It is unknown just how long this major league stint for Urias will be. The club has off days on Monday and Thursday next week, plus another off day on Monday, Aug. 1, so the Dodgers might not need this slot in the rotation again until Aug. 6.

Urias has pitched  total of 78⅓ innings between the majors and minors this season, after throwing 80⅓ innings in 2015.