James Loney sits against left-hander Clayton Richard

It was only a matter of when.

James Loney has actually begun to pick up the pace with the bat this week, including a four-hit game on Tuesday, but Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has benched him with the Padres sending left-hander Clayton Richard to the hill tonight.

Jerry Sands, who was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque early last week, will make his first major league start at first base tonight while Marcus Thames will start in left field. Thames hasn’t started a game since April 13 due to a quad injury, but we could see this lineup more often against left-handers if he’s truly healthy.

Loney has a .255 batting average and a .684 OPS against left-handed pitching during his career compared to a .294 batting average and an .802 OPS against righties.

Free agent outfielder Peter Bourjos is heading back to the Angels on a minor league deal, per a report from Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The agreement includes an invitation to spring training, but has not yet been officially confirmed by the team.

Bourjos, 31, played out a one-year gig with the Braves in 2018 and slashed .205/.239/.364 with four extra-base hits and a .603 OPS through a career-low 47 plate appearances. He showed more promise during a short-lived stint with the Giants’ Triple-A squad in the second half of the season, but elected free agency in early November and had yet to catch on with another major league club. His deal with the Angels represents a homecoming of sorts, as he played some of the best years of his career in Anaheim from 2010 to 2013 before getting traded to the Cardinals in a multiplayer swap for David Freese and Fernando Salas in 2014.

The veteran outfielder is long past his prime, but could still bring some value to the team as outfield depth behind Justin Upton, Mike Trout, and Kole Calhoun. Per Adams, he’s expected to compete for a spot as the Angels’ fourth outfielder, though he also has limited experience at DH as well.