Scherzer will start Game 1
Max Scherzer is expected to throw the Dodgers’ first pitch in the NL Championship Series only two days after delivering the final pitch in their NL Division Series-clinching win.
Unusual? Yes. And yet no one is surprised.
“That is Scherzer being Scherzer,” teammate Cody Bellinger said.
Scherzer is expected to face Braves left-hander Max Fried in Game 1 on Saturday night in an NLCS rematch. The Dodgers beat the Braves in seven games in last year’s NLCS before winning the World Series.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he plans to start Scherzer even after the NL Cy Young Award contender earned his first career save in a 2-1 victory over the Giants on Thursday in Game 5 of the NLDS.
Following the game, Robert said he understood “there might be a cost” in using Scherzer in the closing role as the Dodgers faced the quick turnaround before opening the NLCS. Whatever that cost, the plan is for Scherzer to start the opener.
“That won’t surprise me,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Friday before Atlanta’s workout at Truist Park.
Snitker said Scherzer’s 13-pitch ninth inning was like an off-day session.
“That’s kind of like a side for him right there,” Snitker said. “The guy is just a different animal. I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer and those guys, man they’re cut from a different cloth than normal guys so it won’t surprise me at all if he shows up and is on the mound.”
Scherzer recorded two strikeouts, including a controversial check swing by Wilmer Flores to end the game. First base umpire Gabe Morales ruled Flores swung, though TV replays indicated Flores held up.
Scherzer was 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA for the Nationals and Dodgers this season, including 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts for the Dodgers. He has pitched 12 innings over three appearances in the playoffs, allowing two runs and six hits with 16 strikeouts.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said he was wondering who would pitch the ninth inning for the Dodgers on Thursday as he watched the game on TV.
“And then they showed Max running up and I said, ‘That’s the guy,’” Freeman said.
Astros ace left off ALCS roster:
Astros ace Lance McCullers Jr. has been left off the team’s roster for the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox, a huge blow to a team looking to advance to the World Series for the second time in three seasons.
McCullers was great in a Game 1 win against the White Sox in the Division Series, pitching scoreless ball into the seventh. But the right-hander left Game 4 after four innings because of forearm tightness, and general manager James Click said Thursday that he was being evaluated as they made final decisions on their roster.
No announcement has been made on the severity of his injury, so there is a possibility he could return if the Astros advance to the World Series. He is listed as being part of Houston’s taxi squad for the ALCS.
Replacing him on the roster is right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who was left off the division series roster after a disappointing first season in Houston.