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Dodgers: Dave Roberts Discusses Why David Price, Justin Bruihl are Off Wild Card Roster

When the Dodgers dropped their 26-man Wild Card roster this morning it was a head-scratcher for some. Four very unexpected names were on the roster for the do or die elimination game and a few familiar names were off.

Of the unexpected, Zack McKinstry, Billy McKinney, Steven Souza Jr, and Luke Raley were among the names that made the roster despite spending most of the last month-plus in the minor leagues. Understandably with the single game format, the team didn’t need additional help on the pitching side of things.




Of the names not on the list, Dave Roberts said he planned on keeping NLDS game 1 starter Walker Buehler off Wild Card roster since he wouldn’t be used on Wednesday. But the biggest shockers who weren’t on the roster were David Price and Justin Bruihl, a pair of left-handed relievers.

Before the game, Doc explained why.

St. Louis manager Mike Shildt is running out a lineup featuring 6 right-handed batters and 2 switch hitters. Moreover, their bench has just two left-handed swingers available.

So really, it was all matchup driven. For Price, despite a shaky last few weeks, he’s posted a serviceable 4.03 ERA over 39 games (11 starts). And in the case of the surprising Bruihl, his 2.89 ERA from the left side has impressed but right-handed batters have hit .292 against him as opposed to .150 vs left.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint is the lead editor and manager of DodgersNation.com, and a host and analyst on DN's Blue Heaven podcast live stream. Since joining Dodgers Nation, Clint has helped grow the site into a top-50 baseball website in the world. He's been writing, blogging, and podcasting Dodgers since about 2008. He was there for Nomar, Greg Maddux, and Blake DeWitt, and he'll be there for Walker Buehler, Alex Verdugo, Dustin May, and any Dodgers of the future. He's also a sandwich enthusiast, a consummate athlete, and a friend.

2 Comments

  1. The answer to every why question is the same…because it was the right thing to do! Period!

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