Before their game Friday night with the Washington Nationals, the Los Angeles Dodgers recalled pitcher Nathan Eovaldi from Double A Chattanooga. Left-handed pitcher Michael Antonini, who didn't get to pitch in either of his two games with the big club in his first big league stint, was optioned to Triple A Albuquerque to make room for Eovaldi.
"It was planned from the beginning when we brought Antonini. With Atlanta being lefty heavy, we really wanted to have another lefty out there," manager Don Mattingly said before the game. "We thought about bringing Eo because it would be short term."
Eovaldi, 22, was 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA for the Dodgers last season. He made six starts before shifting to the bullpen in September to limit his innings. Eovaldi was pulled from his start on Wednesday with Chattanooga after just one inning, in preparation for his callup. This season in Double A, Eovaldi had a 2.08 ERA with three walks and 14 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Eovaldi is the sixth starter on the depth chart, the first one they would go to should a starter go down, and his time with the Dodgers is expected to be brief, as Todd Coffey is expected to return from the disabled list on Sunday. But that doesn't make the call any less special to Eovaldi.
"It's still a great call to get," Eovaldi said. "I was still pretty excited about it."
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