Kershaw return?
Dodgers ace feeling better, may get call to start Game 4
ARLINGTON, Texas— Clayton Kershaw is a likely possibility to start Game 4 of the National League Championship Series for the Dodgers if the left-hander’s back continues to improve, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday.
Kershaw was scratched from the Game 2 start because of back spasms, and Roberts decided to stick with left-hander Julio Urías for Game 3 against the Braves on Wednesday night, which ended too late for this edition.
Urías faced Braves rookie Wright.
Urías, already pitching in his fourth postseason, was the winner in relief in theGame3 clincher last Thursday against the Padres during the Division Series. He allowed only one hit and an unearned run over five innings.
Wright threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in his postseason debut in the clinching Game 3 of the NLDS against the Marlins. The 25-year-old righty was the fifth overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Vanderbilt.
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All previous 14 teams to win the first two games of a best-of-seven NLCS went on to take the pennant.
Game 4 of the neutral-site series in Texas is Thursday night.
“Every day it’s been better,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s back. “I can’t just sit here right now and say he’s going to start tomorrow. I think if it progresses the way it has, it’s a likely possibility. But again, this is making sure Clayton feels good tomorrow when he wakes up and the training staff gives us our blessing aswell.”
Following losses by the Dodgers in the first two games, the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner threw in the outfield before Game 3.
Kershaw pitched a few miles from his hometown of Dallas for the first time in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Padres, giving up three runs in six innings for his club-record 11th career postseason victory in the Dodgers’ 6-5 win.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was in his normal spot in the Braves lineup for Game3, aday after getting hit by a pitch on his right elbow.
Manager Brian Snitker said Freeman, who got hit late in Game 2, felt good after treatment overnight.
“I knew they have machines and all of that kind of stuff that they have, and they treated it pretty much all night,” Snitker said. “He feels good, so that’s a good thing.”
Edwin Ríos was in the Dodgers lineup for the first time in the NLCS after missing the NLDS with a groin injury sustained in the wild-card round. Ríos started at third base with Justin Turner serving as the designated hitter. Joc Pederson went from DH in Game 2 to left field, with AJ Pollock not in the lineup.
Johan Camargo started at third base in his 2020 postseason debut for the Braves, with Austin Riley moving to left field and Nick Markakis not in the lineup. Camargo, whowas0-for-15 batting in the 2018 NLDS for the Braves against the Dodgers, was added to the roster Tuesday in place of Adam Duvall (left oblique injury).
Freeman, a favorite for the NL MVP Award, homered in both games as the Braves took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS.
It was the same elbow that Freeman had arthroscopic surgery on at the end of the 2019 season to remove loose bodies and clean up bone spurs. He missed some time in spring training because of swelling in the elbow.