Dodgers minor league pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was pulled from his start in Double-A Chattanooga on Thursday night after just one inning, leading to speculation of a possible roster move.
Eovaldi was pulled for non-injury reasons and was fully healthy. He is essentially the sixth starter on the Dodgers' rotation depth chart.
Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, who is off to a fantastic start this season at 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA and 17 strikeouts against just one walk, felt soreness in his groin after his last start in Milwaukee.
But Billingsley was able to throw a bullpen session Friday in Houston without any pain and will be able to make his next start Sunday against the Astros.
Through Friday, Dodgers starting pitchers have four consecutive quality starts and seven quality starts in their last 10 games.
NOTES
CF Matt Kemp hit his major league leading eighth home run on Friday in Houston, tying Wally Moon (1961) for the most ever by a Dodger through 14 team games. The last major league player to hit at least eight home runs through 14 team games was Alex Rodriguez, who hit 10 home runs in 14 games for the 2007 New York Yankees...Kemp leads the major leagues with 20 RBI in 14 games. April 2012 marks the fifth month of the last seven that Kemp has driven in at least 20 runs. In the other two months (April 2011 and August 2011), Kemp had 19 RBI...3B Juan Uribe missed his third straight game with a sore left wrist Friday night in Houston. Manager Don Mattingly said Uribe would start again on Sunday in the series finale against LHP Wandy Rodriguez...SS Dee Gordon, hitting .192/.263/.231 and in the midst of a 6-for-38 slump, sat Friday night in Houston, the second time this season he didn't start...RHP Javy Guerra picked up his seventh save Friday night in Houston. Guerra's seven saves are the most ever by a Dodger through 14 team games, one more than Takashi Saito in 2007...RHP Angel Guzman, who was signed to a minor league contract by the Dodgers in December, was suspended for 50 games for a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse.
