Barnes’ framing abilities rewarded
Game- calling skills earn Dodgers backup catcher Game 3 starting nod.
The elite pitch- framing and solid game- calling skills of Austin Barnes are expected to net the Dodgers backup the start behind the plate with ace Walker Buehler pitching in Game 3 of the World Series against Tampa Bay on Friday night. Hard- hitting catcher Will Smith is expected to start at designated hitter.
Barnes teamed with Buehler in the must- win Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, when Buehler threw six scoreless innings, giving up seven hits, striking out six and walking none, in a 3- 1 win over Atlanta.
Smith, who has a stronger throwing arm than Barnes but is not as nimble of a receiver, caught Buehler’s f irst three playoff starts, the hard- throwing right- hander giving up four earned runs and eight hits in 13 innings, striking out 23 but walking 11 against Milwaukee, San Diego and Atlanta.
“I love both of our catchers back there, and with what Austin does behind the plate specifically,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “I’m going to put the lineup out there that gives us the best chance to win.”
Opinions vary on the value of pitch- framing. A savvy catcher with soft hands can aid pitchers who can work at the edges of the strike zone, but many balls that are called strikes are simply the result of missed calls.
The Dodgers clearly emphasize it, and the numbers say Barnes is good at it. According to Statcast, Barnes converted 52.8% of nonswing pitches on the fringes of the strike zone into called strikes, the third- best rate of any catcher in baseball. Smith’s 44.2% rate ranked 58th of 62 catchers.
Wood carving a role
Alex Wood may have pitched himself into consideration for a potential Game 6 start with his two- inning scoreless relief stint in Game 2, when the Dodgers lefthander gave up two hits, struck out two and walked one.
Neither Tony Gonsolin, who has a 9.39 ERA with nine strikeouts and seven walks in 72⁄ innings of three playoff
3 games, nor Dustin May, who has a 10.38 ERA with f ive strikeouts and four walks in 41⁄ innings of his last three
3 playoff games, has seized the fourth rotation spot.
But Wood showed an ability to attack the zone Wednesday — of his 26 pitches, 24 were strikes — and he’s now pitched in six World Series games, including a 52⁄ 3- inning, one- run, one- hit effort in a 6- 2 Game 4 win at Houston in 2017.
“I came here for one reason, to win a World Series, and we’re here on the cusp of doing something special,” said Wood, who was traded to Cincinnati before 2019 and returned to the Dodgers as a free agent in 2020. “I’m just grateful to be a part of it and contributing.”
The Rays evened the best- of- seven World Series with a 6- 4 win in Game 2, but Wood said the Dodgers, buoyed by their comeback from a two- games- to- none deficit in the NLCS, remain confident they’ll win their first title since 1988.
“We weren’t really challenged in the regular season or the f irst two rounds,” Wood said. “Then you get punched in the face, you go down 2- 0 [ to the Braves] and it’s like, ‘ Whoa, what just happened?’
“We didn’t know what we were made of as a team until you get down 2- 0 and see how you respond. Well, now we know who we are.”
Big game hunting
Charlie Morton’s stuff is not as electric as Buehler’s — the 36- year- old righthander, who will start Game 3 for the Rays, relies on a sinking fastball that averages 93.3 mph, a 78- mph curve and an 85- mph cutfastball.
But Morton, who is 7- 2 with a 2.84 ERA in 12 career postseason games, 11 of them starts, is every bit the big- game pitcher Buehler is.
Morton is 4- 0 with an 0.46 ERA in four appearances in winner- take- all games, his latest gem a 52⁄ 3- inning, twohit, no- run, six- strikeout start in a 4- 2 win over Houston in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday.
Morton has a 4.22 ERA in four playoff appearances against the Dodgers and gave up one run in the f inal four innings of the Astros’ 5- 1 victory over the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series.
Short hops
Mookie Betts ( right f ield) and Cody Bellinger ( center field) were named by Rawlings as f inalists for Gold Glove Awards, which will be determined this season by statistics and advanced metrics instead of coaches voting. The challengers for Betts, who has won four Gold Gloves, are Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon and Chicago’s Jason Heyward. Bellinger, who has one Gold Glove, is competing with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and San Diego’s Trent Grisham. Pitcher Griffin Canning was the only Angels player among the AL finalists.