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Jose Alvarez to start for Phillies vs. Dodgers on Saturday

Jose Alvarez, the only lefty reliever on the Phillies' active roster after Adam Morgan was placed on the injured list earlier in the week, will make his first start since 2013 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Jose Alvarez, the only lefty reliever on the Phillies' active roster after Adam Morgan was placed on the injured list earlier in the week, will make his first start since 2013 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Jose Alvarez, the only lefty reliever on the Phillies' active roster after Adam Morgan was placed on the injured list earlier in the week, will make his first start since 2013 on Saturday in Los Angeles.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

LOS ANGELES — In need of a starter to replace injured Zach Eflin in the rotation Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Gabe Kapler and the Phillies elected an opener instead. Jose Alvarez, the only lefty reliever on the active roster after Adam Morgan was placed on the injured list earlier in the week, will make his first start since 2013 when he was a rookie with the Detroit Tigers.

Kapler would obviously like to get a lefty on the mound against a Dodgers’ team loaded with some of the best left-handed hitters in baseball, and his options in that regard were limited to Alvarez and rookie Cole Irvin, who filled Eflin’s roster spot.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts filled out a lineup card Friday with six lefties in the first six spots and it proved to be an outstanding combination in a 6-3 victory that included three home runs from the left-handed hitting trio of Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and Corey Seager. Overall, the Dodgers’ lefties went 8-for-18 with a walk off starter Jake Arrieta.

Alvarez has held lefties to a career .238 batting average, a .286 on-base percentage and a .668 OPS. This season, lefties have hit .225 with a .295 on-base percentage and .795 OPS. He has surrendered three home runs and five extra-base hits against left-handed batters in just 44 plate appearances.

Those numbers are much better than the lefty splits for either Vince Velasquez or Irvin, who were the other two options for Kapler Saturday night. Those two will now be available early out of the bullpen.

Alvarez will be making his first start since Sept. 27, 2013. He started the first five games of his career with Detroit, but 300 of his 301 appearances since then have come in relief. He has not pitched more than two innings since May 9, 2015 and the Phillies will be happy to get that many innings out of him Saturday night.