Dodgers News: Brett Anderson Believes He Should Pitch In Postseason

The afternoon after getting two-hit in a complete-game shutout by San Francisco Giants right-hander Mike Leake, the first shutout of his career, the Los Angeles Dodgers received a pitching effort often produced by Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw.

Instead, it was Brett Anderson who held the Giants to just two hits entering the eighth inning. Jarrett Parker and Angel Pagan both reached on infield singles, with the latter scoring a run. Anderson recorded the second out of the inning and was replaced by Chris Hatcher.

By getting the first out in the eighth, Anderson reached 180 innings pitched this season, which triggered a $400,000 incentive bonus in his contract. After arguably his best outing of the season, Anderson said he believes he should be part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation, according to ESPN’s Mark Saxon:

I think I should pitch in the postseason. I’ll pitch whenever they tell me to pitch,” he said.

Anderson finished the season 10-9 with a 3.69 ERA. He made a career-high 31 starts and earned a total of $2.4 million in bonus incentives, which is in addition to the $10 million base salary of his one-year contract.

Though the order may not be set, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are obvious locks to start Games 1 and 2, respectively, of the National League Division Series that will pit the Dodgers against the New York Mets. Also to be determined is home-field advantage in the series.

The Dodgers’ win on Thursday pulled them into a tie with the Mets in the standings. However, New York, losers in three straight and five of their last 10, hold the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series against Los Angeles.

Alex Wood, Anderson’s primary competition to start Game 3, takes the hill Friday night in the series opener against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.