Wood -- who is competing for the Dodgers' final rotation spot -- was shelled for six runs (five earned) on 11 hits over six innings Tuesday. He struck out four and walked one in a loss to the Reds.
The veteran picked a terrible time to have his worst Cactus League outing. Wood was already considered the underdog in the position battle due to his track record of pitching successfully out of the bullpen, whereas Brandon McCarthy has only experienced success as a starter in the majors. Even though an official decision hasn't been made, The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett reported that the 26-year-old sounded like a player who knew his fate after the game when he said, "We've got a lot of guys who deserve to be in the rotation. It's lucky and unlucky that I had success out of the bullpen when I first came up." We will have to wait for an official announcement to be made, but early signs point to McCarthy -- and not Wood -- winning the Dodgers' final rotation spot.