NLDS L.A. turns to Ryu first, not Kershaw
LOS ANGELES — These aren’t the same Dodgers who won 104 games, ran away in the NL West, and fell one victory short of a World Series title last year.
Example A: After a slow start, they won 92 games and needed Game 163 to earn their sixth straight division title.
Example B: Clayton Kershaw won’t be opening the postseason as the Game 1 starter for the first time in six consecutive playoff appearances.
Example C: Kershaw told Hyun-Jin Ryu that the South Korean left-hander was going to take the mound Thursday night against Mike Foltynewicz and the Braves to begin the best-offive Division Series.
“I’m obviously kind of nervous, but I think it’s a good thing,” Ryu said through a translator Wednesday.
The Dodgers obviously think flip-flopping Kershaw and Ryu is the right move, with manager Dave Roberts saying it allows both pitchers to have five days’ rest between starts.
Kershaw starting the opener has been the surest sign that it’s October in L.A. The face of the franchise has started eight of the past 10 postseason Game 1s.
“He obviously wanted to pitch Game 1 and expected to,” Roberts said. “But after talking to him and explaining our thoughts, he accepted it and he just said he’ll be ready to go for the second game.”
Kershaw often has started on short rest in recent postseasons, but the Dodgers don’t plan on that this time. Rookie Walker Buehler is set to go in Game 3, impressing enough to be Kershaw’s heir apparent.
“It doesn’t have to all fall on his shoulders like it has in the past,” starter-turned-reliever Alex Wood said of Kershaw.
Ryu is eager to make a mark after not pitching in the postseason since 2014, having been injured for most of the 2015 and ’16 seasons. He was left off last year’s playoff rosters after going 5-9 with a 3.77 ERA.
Still, Ryu has posted a better ERA (2.81) in his three career postseason games than Kershaw (4.35) in 24 playoff games.
“Finding out that I made the postseason roster, especially not making it last year, was definitely huge for me,” Ryu said.
Ryu was 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA in the regular season. Kershaw, a fellow lefty, was 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA and team-high 155 strikeouts.
If needed, Kershaw still could start Game 5 in Los Angeles on normal rest, so the move allows him to be available twice in the best-of-5 series.
“If we get to that point, then we’ll have a discussion,” Roberts said.
Like the Dodgers, the Braves aren’t the same team they were a year ago.
Atlanta is back in the postseason for the first time since 2013, when it was beaten by the Dodgers in four games.
Under manager Brian Snitker, the Braves went from 72 wins in 2017 to 90 and the NL East title this year, surprising many with the turnaround.
“No one really followed us until the end of the season,” Foltynewicz said. “Just because we started off hot, no one thought we would continue being that good and we did the whole season.”
Led by the so-called “Baby Braves” — 20-year-old left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and 21-yearold second baseman Ozzie Albies — Atlanta has gotten production from veterans Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman as well.
What the Braves lack is playoff experience, especially compared to the battle-tested Dodgers.
“We got a bunch of young guys that they had never experienced September either, having to win and chasing a division,” Snitker said, “and then it didn’t faze them a bit.”