Ross Stripling is excited to start 2020 season in Dodgers rotation

Key notes from Ross Stripling interview

• I was lucky. I went home for the shutdown to Houston and was able to get a lot of work done. It was a lot like a typical offseason. I got my normal amount of work done and was fortunate to show up to camp ready to go.
   
• We are creatures of habit who crave structure as baseball players — not having a date of when we'd be back left a lot of question marks for guys. Most guys were probably trying to stay as built up as best they could. My goal was to be able to show up, ready to get into the rotation and be prepared to work up to six innings quickly.
   
• I live out of my suitcase; that's the baseball life. It was exciting to get that call that we were back and getting the season off the ground. We headed west and got ready to go. All of the guys were excited to be back around each other and get back to work, now Opening Day is finally here.
   
• We get tested every other day by a saliva test; that's the standard the MLB & MLBPA agreed on. Once you're in the locker room, it's actually pretty similar to everyday life. The weight room is segmented out by time for certain guys. The other big thing is that we're not allowed to eat inside, we have to take our food and go. Then, as well as us all wearing masks.
   
• We're so spoiled being Dodgers. We always have a packed stadium, no matter the opponent or the day of the week. They are doing a good job pumping in noise, but it's definitely not the same. As players, it's not that hard to get yourself amped up. This is a performance-based business, so I don't have a choice. I have to go out there and be my best. We're also going after a World Series title, so energy won't be an issue for us.
   
• It is incredible to pitch with this offense behind you. It gets us ready for anything we might face having to face them during intrasquad games; it's no joke. There are no holes in our lineup. I'd rather see them perform over 162, but I'll have to settle for 60.
   
• Mookie Betts is a great guy. Our roster is loaded from top to bottom, but I'm incredibly excited he's going to be a Dodger for a long time because I've had no fun facing him this summer.
   
• This is either my third or fourth time to break camp in the starting rotation, which is quite a feat with a roster this talented. I kind of saw this coming because I was pitching on a similar schedule as Clayton Kershaw. Regardless, when you get that message from Doc, it's always a great feeling.
   
• I feel really good right now. With the unpreceded time off, I wasn't 100% sure how my body was going to react, but I'm feeling great right now. On Friday, I feel like I'll be ready to go 100+ pitches and six-plus innings.
   
• The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is very similar to A&M-Texas from my days in college. It's just a group of guys that you want to beat every single time you go out there.
   
• Honestly, we as a team haven't talked much about our matchups with the Astros this season. With everything else going on, it just hasn't come up. Obviously, now that we're getting going, I'm sure we're going to be amped up and ready to go. Both teams still have their nucleus from the 2017 World Series, so it should be a fun battle.
   
• This is the first time baseball is a sprint instead of a marathon. Every single game is going to matter, and every single division race is going to be close. It's going to be a lot of fun to get out there, and we will have a lot of energy early. Hopefully, we can keep that pumping throughout the entire season.