Mainieri announces weekend rotation vs. Clemson, updates Dylan Eskew's latest injury status
Two days before South Carolina begins a three-game series with No. 13 Clemson, head coach Paul Mainieri announced his weekend rotation with some small changes. Matthew Becker will start on Friday, Jake McCoy will start on Saturday, and Dylan Eskew will start on Sunday.
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It’s the same three starters as the first two series of the season. The only difference is that Becker and McCoy will have one less day of rest, while Eskew slides back from Friday to Sunday as he recovers from an injury he sustained in his last outing.
“The only reason I made the switch in the rotation was because of (Eskew) and us not knowing for sure if he’d be ready to pitch on Friday,” Mainieri said. “I mean, today’s Wednesday, right? What if he had gone out there and thrown his bullpen and it didn’t feel good today? Now how am I going to get somebody to pitch on Friday if we had been doing something different with Becker or Saturday in McCoy’s case? So I just thought the easiest thing was to take a day less rest for Becker and McCoy.”
Eskew only pitched into the third inning of his start last Friday against Milwaukee. After loading the bases with no outs, both Mainieri and head athletic trainer Corey Barton came out to the mound to check on him. He ended up leaving with them as South Carolina went on to pick up a 5-2 win.
After the game, Mainieri said Eskew had a little strain in his back that he thought affected his delivery. The next day, the first-year head coach revealed the right-hander had a mild strain in his rhomboid.
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“He must’ve changed his arm slot a little bit and put a little extra strain on a muscle in his back,” he said. “But our trainer Corey Barton has been working so feverishly with him, really, to get him ready.”
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It usually takes a few days to a week to recover from this type of injury. In Eskew’s case, he’s on track to make it back in just nine days. He threw a “really fine” bullpen session on Wednesday, which went well, according to Mainieri.
“(He) didn’t feel anything. So assuming he doesn’t wake up sore tomorrow or whatever, then he’ll pitch in Sunday’s game,” he added.
South Carolina will open the series with Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday night. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
