Dodgers Still Weighing Pitching Options For Games 3 and 4 vs Padres
The Dodgers haven’t cemented the Games 3 and 4 starters yet, but Landon Knack and Walker Buehler will be utilized. Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said the team was still considering their game plan after Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty get the first two starts of the NLDS.
Everything must be carefully weighed in the balance, especially for a team that’s repeatedly fallen short in the postseason. What will the right moves be? Who gives the Dodgers their best chance of success?
The Dodgers are calculating the best approach to the NLDS. This was evident in their latest move to switch the order of their front-line starters. By switching Yamamoto and Flaherty in the rotation, both pitchers would be available for a potential Game 5. One pitcher would get the start, while the other pitching in relief.
There has been speculation that Buehler will take Game 3 and the rookie Knack will take Game 4, but nothing has been confirmed.
Buehler didn’t look postseason-ready for a majority of the season, but the tide changed in late September. Buehler took the mound against the San Diego Padres and helped the Dodgers clinch the National League West division with a 7-2 victory.
The right-hander allowed just one run through five innings against the Padres. His 71-pitch outing is exactly what the Dodgers were hoping to see from Buehler. His performance proved he could handle a postseason performance.
Knack finished the season with a 3-5 record and a 3.65 ERA in 12 starts.
In the final series of the regular season, reliever Anthony Banda opened Sunday’s game in front of Knack. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed it’s something the team could consider doing in the postseason. Banda could open a game and the rookie could come out of the bullpen for bulk innings.
It’s certainly something to monitor as the series progresses. Sunday’s game against the Rockies could be a foreshadowing of how the Dodgers will utilize the rookie pitcher in the NLDS.
The Dodgers head into the NLDS with another pitching problem, but this time, the team had no choice in who their starters would be. Injuries dictated the starting rotation.
The Dodgers are the unlikely underdogs in the looming postseason matchup, but the club has the opportunity to prove doubters wrong.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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