Dodgers insert Maholm for series with Giants

PHOENIX -- Josh Beckett, Paul Maholm and Hyun-Jin Ryu, in order, will start the three games of the upcoming series in San Francisco, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced on Sunday.

Probable starting pitchers are generally not a revelation for a club with a normal starting rotation. But since the injury of ace Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers don't have a normal rotation. And the Dodgers in recent years tend to delay such announcements as long as possible, believing the uncertainty puts opponents at a disadvantage.

With Monday an off-day, Mattingly said by using Maholm on Wednesday he's able to give Ryu and Zack Greinke an extra day of rest. Greinke will start the homestand opener on Friday night against Arizona.

Mattingly said "it is tempting to move everybody up" and have Ryu and Greinke face the Giants on regular rest, but added that he's "managing for the whole season and keeping guys strong. With the off-days, we want to take care of guys as much as we could."

He said one consideration was to have Greinke pitch Thursday on regular rest and give Ryu two extra days of rest, starting him against the D-backs, who have not scored a run off him in the last 19 innings.

The Dodgers will have had five days off in a 15-day span when they open their series on Tuesday, which begins a 13-game stretch without days off. The Dodgers are next off on April 28, then play another 16 consecutive days. That stretch ends May 14, with the possibility of Kershaw returning by then.