Ah, the spoils of a 40-man roster and a 12.5-game division lead.
The Dodgers have taken advantage of this current situation to give their starters some rest during this series in Colorado.
Hanley Ramirez, A.J. Ellis and Juan Uribe were all given the day off in the Dodgers 7-4 win on Tuesday, and it is expected that Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Mark Ellis and Adrian Gonzalez will be off on Wednesday.
Even the starting rotation will get some slack with Edinson Volquez scheduled to make his first start with the team on Wednesday.
It seems like the idea is to give the team a break in Coors Field before they head to Cincinnati for a challenging series against the Reds. Without a pressing divisional race, the Dodger hope to avoid the effects of the long 162-game season by using extra depth provided by the 40-man roster.
That is also why Yasiel Puig will be brought back slowly from the right knee strain he suffered on Monday. He will not start until he is 100 percent, but do not be surprised if he sits an extra game as the Dodgers use extra caution handling him.
Ricky Nolasco was taken out after six innings in Tuesday's game despite giving up just five hits for two runs on 85 pitches. Nolasco went eight inning in each of his last two starts, so whether or not he actually needed the rest there are more than enough pitchers in the bullpen to give eat up some extra innings.
Mattingly was asked during the home stand if he would be resting his starters, and he said certain guys may "get a day" but he still wants to fight for the best record in the National League.
"If we get to that point (home-field advantage), I think we try to win everyday" he said, "It'd be winning every day with the thought in my mind of not having Hanley out there 15 days in a row when he's dead tired."
"We want to win every day, but part of that is making sure we are fresh and ready to go" Mattingly emphasized.
Well, the team should be plenty fresh after the series with Colorado -- basically every starter will have had a day off and the rotation will get bumped back a day.
Michael Young got his first start as a Dodger on Tuesday alongside other backups, Nick Punto, Skip Schumaker and Tim Federowicz. Young and Schumaker combined to go 2-10, while Punto and Federowicz went 6-8 as the Dodgers won 7-4.
Wednesday is the series finale with Colorado, so we will see how the backups do with another handful of starters taking the bench as the Dodgers try to extend their winning streak to seven games.
