LOS ANGELES --- The Dodgers placed starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy on the 10-day disabled list with a flareup of right knee patella tendinitis and optioned pitcher Thomas Stripling to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday, while recalling outfielder Trayce Thompson and pitcher Brock Stewart.
Manager Dave Roberts said he expected McCarthy to be able to start in 10 or 11 days. McCarthy left a May 27 two-hit shutout after six innings with knee soreness and said then it has bothered him sporadically all season.
"I think if you look at [Sunday], the first and third inning were good," Roberts said. "It was just that second inning, that was one pitch he couldn't get command of."
McCarthy has been one of the more pleasant surprises this year until Sunday, when he had a relapse of the yips and lasted only three innings in the Dodgers' wild 12-6 win over Colorado. In the game, McCarthy walked two and threw three wild pitches reminiscent of control problems that developed last year, when he was on the comeback from Tommy John surgery.
With McCarthy sidelined, the Dodgers will mix up their rotation, with Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood flipping starts. Kershaw will throw on Thursday against the Angels, while Wood will pitch on Friday against the Padres.
Thompson was hitting .211 at Oklahoma City, and that's after floundering with a .045 average in April, which doesn't include an 0-for-8 in a weeklong callup to the Dodgers. The slow start has been attributed to rust after he missed most of the second half last season with two fractured vertebrae.
"Our reports say that he's been swinging the bat considerably better," Roberts said about Thompson. "With what he did last year for us, we trust him in the outfield and he's a part of what we're doing now and going forward."
Stewart, who began the season sidelined with right shoulder tendinitis, has been on the Triple-A shuttle in recent weeks. He has been a starter at OKC, but Roberts has said he would most likely serve as a long reliever when he rejoined the Dodgers. That's the role Stripling has filled. He pitched two innings on Sunday, allowing one run on three hits.
Worth noting
• Corey Seager, who hasn't played since straining his right hamstring Friday night, was not available Monday night. Manager Dave Roberts said that's why he sent up Mike Freeman (recalled on Sunday) to pinch-hit with runners on second and third in the seventh inning of the Dodgers' 4-0 loss to the Angels. Freeman struck out on three Cam Bedrosian pitches.
"[The injury] is something he felt on a swing. He swung a little today, but to heat him up and put him in a game, potentially put him in harm's way, I didn't feel it was the right thing to do," said Roberts, who added that Seager will run arcs and take more batting practice on Tuesday to determine if he needs to go on the disabled list.
• Scott Kazmir, out all season with a hip injury, started for Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Monday night, tossing three innings and allowing four hits and one home run.