After suffering their most-lopsided defeat ever at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers on Saturday called up relief pitcher Jack Little as the fresh arm from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Noah Davis was optioned to Triple-A.
Davis got the tough-luck draw of mopping up in the middle of a lopsided game on Friday, then when things turned bad was asked to wear it as he gave up 10 runs in the sixth inning. His 10 runs allowed tied a Los Angeles Dodgers record for a reliever, matching Willard Hunter’s major league debut on April 16, 1962 in San Francisco.
In all, Davis threw 47 pitches to get four outs, with 43 pitches coming in the six-hit, three-walk, hit-batter nightmare frame. On a day after Jack Dreyer also recorded five outs and Anthony Banda pitched two innings, the Dodgers opted to use Davis’s roster spot for a fresh arm, calling up Little.
This is the second stint in the majors for Little, who made his major league debut on July 19, allowing two runs in two innings against the Padres. His hit by pitch of Fernando Tatis Jr. was the last straw in seven games of built-up tension between the Padres and Dodgers over an 11-day span that bubbled over into benches clearing and both managers getting ejected and then suspended for one game apiece.
Little was optioned to Oklahoma City the next day, and Friday marked his 15th day in the minors, facilitating his return to the majors without another corresponding move. In Triple-A this season, Little has a 3.60 ERA and 10 saves for the Comets, with 33 strikeouts and 15 unintentional walks in 35 innings.
Little last pitched on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless inning in Las Vegas in his only appearance in the previous six days.
Davis, who was acquired from the Red Sox for cash on March 27, has been active with the Dodgers for four different stints so far this season. He’s pitched in five of the 13 games for which he was active, with a 19.50 ERA, five walks, four hit batters, and eight strikeouts in six innings. In 20 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the 28-year-old right-hander has a 4.34 ERA with one save, 35 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 29 innings.
