A good start indeed
Dodgers, Brewers hope pitching gets some length
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came into the postseason willing to let his starters go deeper into games.
He has yet to find someone who can stick around.
Hyun-Jin Ryu lasted 41⁄3 innings in Game 2 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Ace Clayton Kershaw managed just three innings in Game 1.
Now, it’s Walker Buehler’s turn. The rookie takes the ball tonight at Dodger Stadium, where he was 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) during the regular season.
“Obviously threw the ball pretty good at home. But that’s what you’re supposed to do. You protect your home field,” Buehler said yesterday. “Obviously 50,000 Dodger fans behind you doesn’t hurt. And sleeping in the same city that you’re going to play in and not having to fly anywhere is big.”
The teams traded one-run victories in the first two games in Milwaukee, sending the series back to Los Angeles for Games 3, 4 and 5.
Buehler made his postseason debut in the NL Division Series at Atlanta. The right-hander got tagged for five runs in the second inning of a 6-5 loss. He settled down after that in a five-inning outing.
“You could say that there was a little bit of nerves and anxiety, but that happens,” Buehler said. “My first time there, I think I handled it fine. My heartbeat, I felt good with. I was more upset about kind of the decision to throw certain pitches.”
Buehler has drawn comparisons to Kershaw based on his throwing ability, results and competitiveness. The 24-year-old rookie projects an image of calm, and he’s not one to dwell on a clunker.
“I know what happened and I was there, so I’m more of a positive feedback guy,” he said. “The only games I want to watch are the good ones and move forward and stick with what I have.”
For Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin, Game 3 is a return to the scene of his team’s worst loss of the season. He was charged with nine runs — eight earned — and five hits in a 21-5 rout on Aug.2. Cody Bellinger hit a grand slam off the 30-year-old right-hander, who lasted just 41⁄3 innings.
“It wasn’t my best game there, but during the season you got one or two bad games,” Chacin said. “I know people might talk about that a lot. But I’m just going to go out, just try to give my team a chance to win the game and just have fun.”
Chacin rebounded on short rest against Colorado in Game 2 of the NLDS, pitching five scoreless innings.
“Jhoulys is a true competitor, and he’s out on the mound thinking of ways to beat you,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said yesterday. “He’s got a number of different tricks in his bag, so to speak, that he goes to get outs, and I enjoy that. It’s gamesmanship, it’s competitiveness, it’s creativity on the mound.”
The Brewers held an optional workout Sunday in Los Angeles. The off day allowed both managers to reset their bullpens after the teams used a combined 27 pitchers in the first two games, the Dodgers 14, the Brewers 13.
“Jhoulys is capable of going deep into the game, and that’s ideal,” Counsell said. “But I think you also have to watch the game and see what’s going on. We’ll be fresh tomorrow and ready to go, so that’s good.”