ATLANTA – Tony Cingrani is upside down this season. The Dodgers think they can turn him right side up again.

The veteran left-hander acquired from the Cincinnati Reds as part of the Dodgers’ deadline-day splurge has found it more difficult to retire left-handed batters than right-handers this season. Lefties are batting .293 (12 for 41) with four doubles and six home runs off Cingrani. Right-handers are batting .255 (13 for 51) with three doubles and three home runs.

That goes strongly against his career-long trend. In five big-league seasons before this, Cingrani held left-handed hitters to a .208 average.

“We’re pretty optimistic,” Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi said. “He has pretty rare arm strength for a left-handed reliever, has had success in the past, has closed some, has been a starter. So we think he’s going to bring a lot of versatility to the ’pen.

“He’s obviously struggled a little against left-handed hitters this season but has had success in the past. We’re hoping with some tweaks in game-planning and sequencing he’ll get back to that level and be a real asset for us.”

The Dodgers have done this before. Grant Dayton and Josh Fields are two examples of pitchers acquired for the potential the Dodgers’ analytics saw in them.

In Cingrani’s case, that potential involves his slider.

“Basically, the gist I got was use my slider more and use my fastball in different locations,” Cingrani said before getting the full briefing Thursday afternoon, his first day with his new team. “I don’t really know what they have for analytics. But I’m excited to see what they have because it’s pretty aggressive.”

In simple terms, Cingrani’s slider has been more effective than his fastball throughout his career. It has produced a higher percentage of swings and misses than his fastball (15.2 percent compared to 10.9) and a lower batting average (.204 to .231). But he has not thrown it nearly as often. Cingrani has thrown his fastball (which is averaging 94.4 mph this season) 82 percent of the time during his career. Brooks Baseball shows that he has thrown only seven sliders this season.

“The fastball plays up and the slider is above average but just hasn’t been used as much as it probably could,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, calling them “two potentially elite pitches.”

KERSHAW PROGRESS

Roberts said Clayton Kershaw is progressing so well in his recovery from a lower back strain that the three-time Cy Young Award winner is already pushing to start throwing off a mound.

“I know in talking to the training staff he’s more on the aggressive side, which is no surprise to us” Roberts said. “We’re trying to temper that.”

That means throwing off a mound is “not going to happen quite yet. When that day is, I don’t know yet.” But Roberts said the fact that Kershaw is pushing to do more is “a good sign.”

TV GUIDE

The Dodgers announced Thursday that an agreement has been reached to simulcast six more games on KTLA/5.

The six additional broadcasts are all Tuesday games: Aug. 22 (from Pittsburgh), Aug. 29 (from Arizona), Sept. 5 (at home against the Diamondbacks), Sept. 12 (from San Francisco), Sept. 19 (from Philadelphia) and Sept. 26 (at home against the Padres).

REHAB ROUNDUP

Veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez began his minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. Gonzalez has not played since June 11 due to chronic problems with a pair of herniated discs in his back. Gonzalez (currently on the 60-day DL) said last week he expects to spend the full 20 days allowed for a rehab assignment either with the OKC Dodgers or Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.

But he is not alone. Utilityman Rob Segedin also began a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Thursday. Segedin has been limited to 11 games this season (two with the Dodgers) by a foot injury and wrist surgery.

Reliever Chris Hatcher is scheduled to join them and start his rehab assignment with the OKC Dodgers on Friday. Hatcher has been out since June 22 with thoracic inflammation.

No rehab assignment is scheduled yet for right-hander Brandon McCarthy, according to Roberts. McCarthy has not pitched since July 20 because of a recurring blister problem on his pitching hand. Roberts indicated that issue has been resolved but McCarthy is “physically not synced up. He still feels mechanically that things aren’t where he needs them to be.”

ALSO

The Dodgers were anticipating a 3 a.m. arrival in New York following their game in Atlanta on Thursday night. So right-hander Yu Darvish left the team and traveled ahead Thursday afternoon. Darvish is scheduled to make his Dodgers debut Friday night against the New York Mets.

Right-hander Brock Stewart was returned to Triple-A in order to clear a roster spot for Cingrani’s addition. Stewart will continue to stretch out as a starter for the OKC Dodgers, Roberts said.