Syndergaard to IL after Roberts calls for 'reset'

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Noah Syndergaard will get a chance to regroup and recover after he was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of a blister on his right index finger.

Manager Dave Roberts had implied some sort of move could be made after Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings Wednesday as the Dodgers’ losing streak hit four with an 8-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

“Noah has been going through it all year. It is not from lack of effort or preparation. It’s just not working,” Roberts said after the loss. “There’s things with that blister. There was a fingernail break tonight. He’s not going to make excuses. He understands about performance.

“We’re going to sit down with him and try to figure out. Obviously, we can’t continue at this pace of performance. There might be an opportunity to give him a reset to get this taken care of.”

Syndergaard, who signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Dodgers during the offseason, saw his ERA balloon to 7.16. He has given up five runs or more in three straight starts and six earned runs or more in four starts this season overall, tied with Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft and the Oakland Athletics‘ Kyle Muller for the most in the majors.

He previously had expressed displeasure with his performance, calling himself the rotation’s “weakest link” last week.

Syndergaard, 30, missed all of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and has a 4.71 ERA over the past two-plus seasons. The right-hander went 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA last season with the Angels and National League-champion Phillies.

The Dodgers recalled right-hander Tayler Scott from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move. Scott, 31, threw 1⅔ scoreless innings against the New York Yankees on Saturday in his only appearance for Los Angeles this season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.