Noah Syndergaard bullpen session Saturday will test blister on right index finger

LOS ANGELES — Noah Syndergaard will throw a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, which will go a long way in determining whether the Dodgers right-hander will be able to make his scheduled start on Monday against the Twins.

Syndergaard left his start Tuesday in Milwaukee after just one inning with a cut in his right index finger. The Dodgers literally couldn’t stop the bleeding.

The right-hander threw on Friday, with his between-starts bullpen session coming Saturday.

“Tomorrow is going to be a really big day for him, in the sense that he’s going to throw a bullpen,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday. “If he can get out of that, I don’t see why he wouldn’t make his start on Monday.”

Syndergaard’s finger will be covered during his bullpen session, and will be covered as well should he make his start on Monday. The Dodgers are using a skin adhesive product called Dermabond on Syndergaard’s finger, which he also pitched with during previous starts.

Roberts said it would be natural for a pitcher to lose feel in not being able to have the baseball touch skin while pitching, but Syndergaard hasn’t reported any setbacks from using the adhesive. The right-hander has a 6.12 ERA on the season, and allowed 10 runs on 17 hits in 9⅓ innings with two strikeouts in the two starts prior to exiting Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee.

Gavin Stone is scheduled to start Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma City but, like Syndergaard, last pitched on Tuesday. Stone would be the logical replacement to start for the Dodgers Monday, but Roberts said that the priority is for Syndergaard to start if he comes out of his bullpen session unscathed.

“He’s pitched with it [covered up] for a few starts, so I feel confident he can give us whatever he needs,” Roberts said. “For me it’s just trusting the player. If we can keep it protected, then he’ll be okay.”