Wood looks to increase role with Dodgers
ARLINGTON, TEXAS >> Alex Wood has experience starting in the World Series for the Dodgers. While in a different role now, the left-hander could be an intriguing option if Los Angeles needs another starter in this Fall Classic.
“When you get to this point in the year, all bets are off. When you get your opportunity to go in, throw up a zero or get your team to the next inning to have a chance to win, I’m just trying to contribute,” Wood said Thursday, a day off at the World Series. “I think my role is increasing as we’ve gone forward. And I feel pretty good. So hopefully I’ll continue to have some more opportunities.”
Wood returned to L. A. as a free agent last winter after being traded to Cincinnati the previous offseason, but missed a month of this pandemicshortened regular season because of a shoulder injury in his first start, and went to the bullpen after returning in September. He was added to the playoff roster for the NL Championship Series, threw 1 2/3 innings against Atlanta , and added two scoreless innings against Tampa Bay in Game 2 of the World Series.
The lefty was the sixth of seven Dodgers pitchers in a planned bullpen game, a 6- 4 loss Wednesday night that evened the World Series at a game each. Every pitcher got at least three outs, with Wood’s the longest outing.
After going 16- 3 as a starter during the 2017 regular season, Wood allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in his Game 4 start of the World Series for the Dodgers. He threw the final two innings of Game 7 won by Houston, then made three relief appearances in the 2018 World Series soon before getting traded. He made only seven starts for the Reds while dealing with back issues in 2019.
Walker Buehler starts Game 3 for the Dodgers tonight, and could go on regular rest in a Game 7, if the Series goes the full distance. Julio Urías, 4- 0 over a start and three relief appearances this postseason, is scheduled for Game 4, a night before Game 1 winner Clayton Kershaw on regular rest Sunday night. That could leave Game 6 open, unless Buehler was brought back on short rest.
“I’m not t hin k in g about that at all,” Wood said. “I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win a World Series. And we’re right here on the cusp of doing something special, something that hasn’t be done in a long time. And I’m just really grateful to be a part of it and be contributing.”
Meeting Mookie
Tampa Bay shortstop Willy Adames and Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts hugged when they met at second base during the World Series opener.
Adames said he first met Betts after getting called up by the Rays in 2018, when Betts was still playing for the Boston Red Sox and the year he was the AL MVP.
“Since then, every time I get to second he says hi to me, he talks to me and he treats me like he knew me his whole life,” Adames said Thursday. “And for me that means a lot to me. That’s a player that you look up to and you enjoy watching him play, the energy he brings to the game. Everything he brings to the game is special.”