At the pregame press conference before the Friday game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the second half of the season, manager Kirk Gibson gave some updates about changes in the pitching rotation and roster in general. He also gave some information regarding some players that are currently injured. The first revelation is that pitcher Barry Enright will replace Zach Duke in the starting rotation beginning Tuesday, while Josh Collmenter will make his start on Monday.
Duke, at least for now, will take a spot in the bullpen, giving the team an extra arm before Enright is called up. They will wait until Tuesday to make the corresponding roster moves.
Gibson also said that Brandon Allen, recently recalled from AAA Reno to replace Juan Miranda, would play "quite a bit." With the addition of Allen and infielder Geoff Blum, it gives Gibson a lot of flexibility on the bench, as the team will have several players who have the capability of playing multiple positions.
As for updates with injuries, reliever Juan Gutierrez is still on the shelf for an undefined amount of time, with issues related to muscles around his elbow, but not the elbow itself. Injured closer J.J. Putz threw on Sunday and Thursday without any issues, and is set to throw again this coming Sunday. They working to get him built up so he can go multiple games in a row.
With the 92 games in the books for Arizona and only 3.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the NL West lead, it will be fun to see what happens with the team in the weeks that are ahead.
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