DENVER -- The Dodgers optioned left-handed starter Eric Stults to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room on the roster for 20-year-old lefty Clayton Kershaw, who was promoted from Double-A Jacksonville to start on Tuesday night against the Rockies.
The 28-year-old Stults was 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA in six starts, including a complete-game shutout on June 25 against the White Sox. But he also had an 11-0 lead in the third inning on Monday night and couldn't finish off the fourth or qualify for the victory.
Manager Joe Torre said he "had somebody else in mind" to make room for Kershaw, presumably rookie reliever Ramon Troncoso, but was influenced by of how Stults pitched in Coors Field.
"After what we saw last night, he needs to go back and find his aggressiveness," Torre said. "He's just very tentative. It's not the way he came up here.
"A couple [starts], he wasn't finishing and getting his changeup down. Last night, he was trying to make perfect pitches; he didn't want contact."
Stults added: "Last night, I had a big lead. Maybe this place can get in your head. You start nibbling in this park."
Nonetheless, the decision presumably also involved the availability of relievers for the rest of the series at Coors Field. Since the All-Star break, Torre has received only 16 2/3 innings from four starters, forcing him to call on his bullpen for 20 1/3 frames.
Joe Beimel, Brian Falkneborg and Cory Wade have pitched in three of the four games and Stults, having thrown 74 pitches on Monday night, would have been unavailable. After using Hong-Chih Kuo for 1 2/3 innings on Monday night, sending down a relatively fresh Troncoso would have left the bullpen exposed, especially with Kershaw making his Coors Field debut.
The Dodgers do not need a fifth starter until Tuesday. Jason Johnson is the lukewarm favorite, but that could change.
In other pitching news, Torre said Brad Penny will likely make the first of two Minor League rehab starts this weekend.
Jason Schmidt received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder and will take several days off before throwing. Scott Proctor, on the disabled list with a tender right elbow, threw off a mound. And bullpen coach Ken Howell, who had part of a toe surgically removed, has been cleared to rejoin the club on Friday night.
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