Dodgers' Ryan Yarbrough: Could piggyback Sheehan

The Dodgers could deploy Yarbrough as a piggyback pitcher behind starter Emmet Sheehan in Thursday's game against the Giants, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

While manager Dave Roberts hasn't revealed how he plans to manage his pitching staff in the series opener, piggybacking the right-handed Sheehan with the left-handed Yarbrough would make sense. The Dodgers are cognizant of managing the rookie Sheehan's workload and haven't had him cover more than five innings in the majors or minors since July 29, so having him toss three or four frames before exiting the contest may be Roberts' preferred approach. Additionally, having Yarbrough enter the contest in the middle innings would help the Dodgers neutralize a Giants lineup that often contains four lefty bats in Michael Conforto, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade. Yarbrough last pitched Sunday, but he should be capable of giving the Dodgers three or four innings on three days' rest, if necessary.