The Dodgers got some much0needed offense Tuesday night in their 10-3 win over the Pirates, but they also suffered a loss. Reliever Blake Hawksworth left the game in the seventh inning with a strained right groin and, although his injury prognosis and timetable is yet unknown, could be a big blow to an already depleted Dodger bullpen.
Hawksworth appeared to injure his groin while running to cover first base in the seventh inning. He pulled up short, and then left the game after meeting with trainers and throwing a warm-up pitch. Manager Don Mattingly said after the game Hawksworth would undergo an MRI exam Wednesday morning.
The Dodger bullpen has a 5.22 ERA this season, the second-worst figure in the National League. Closer Jonathan Broxton is on the disabled list and expected to be out at least a month with bone spurs in his right elbow, Hong-Chih Kuo has been injured, ineffective, or both so far this season, leaving the Dodgers without any consistency from their expected bullpen aces.
Hawksworth has been solid, with a 3.13 ERA, though his peripherals suggest he has been a little more than a run worse than that (4.43 FIP, 4.31 xFIP, 4.46 tERA coming into tonight). If he has to go on the disabled list, the likely candidates to replace him would be Scott Elbert, Ramon Troncoso, or Travis Schlichting, though none of those three have exactly been setting the world on fire in Triple A this season.
The Dodgers have had 10 different players make 11 trips to the disabled list this season.
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