On Monday afternoon — a few minutes after the Dodgers placed Brandon McCarthy on the disabled list with an injury that McCarthy does not feel is serious and a few hours before Alex Wood struck out 11 batters in five innings — manager Dave Roberts was asked about the depth of his starting rotation.
The Dodgers devote themselves to depth with an ardor that borders on fanaticism. It is an understandable affection: The club used more starting pitchers than any other team in baseball in 2015 and set a major-league record for players on the disabled list in 2016.