Lefty Wood set to face old teammates
Former L.A. pitcher moved north to get rotation spot
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts knows Alex Wood very well. The Dodgers’ manager had so much confidence in Wood, he had the lefthander work two innings in the decisive Game 6 of the World Series last year. So when asked about Wood on Sunday, Roberts summed him up well.
“He’s a great competitor. I think he feels he’s always the best option — which as a major-league baseball player, that’s a good thing,” Roberts said on a video call.
Wood, who pitched for the Dodgers for five seasons and won a ring with them last year, will start against them Monday in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, with the series at one game apiece.
“Huge game, but that’s what you play for,” Wood said. “I’ve been in a lot of postseasons, pitched in a lot of big games in the postseason and tomorrow is no exception.
“After spending the year in San Francisco and after playing over there for five years, I’ll leave everything I’ve got out there. I’ll give everything that I have for us to win the baseball game. I look at it as an opportunity to see what I’m made of, to prove something to myself.”
His former teammates have fondness for Wood. When AJ Pollock was leaving his postgame news conference after Game 2, he asked which pitcher the Giants would be starting in Game 3, and once told, he said with delight, “Woody! Nice!” Roberts said, “I have a very good respect and admiration for him. I consider him a friend.”
In such a matchup, there will be an undercurrent of familiarity. It runs both ways, which sometimes can be an advantage for one side, sometimes the other.
“I think it’s on the day,” Roberts said of finding any edge. “I think that’s what’s going to be fun — to kind of see how that goes. Is he going to go fastball to get ahead, or is he going to throw a curveball to steal a strike? In an even count, does he go fastball to trick us? Or is he going to go with his strength, the changeup?”
The Dodgers are one team that won’t be surprised at how fast Wood works, and as Roberts noted, they know he likes to get a quick strike one. Wood wouldn’t tip his hand Sunday, but said of the Dodgers: “They do a great job of preparing for anyone and everyone, especially this time of year. So we’ve just got to go out and talk and execute the chess match, take what the game gives you, feel it out as you go and try to make pitches.”
Wood worked out of the bullpen most of the shortened 2020 season after suffering a back injury the previous year with Cincinnati, but he wanted a firm rotation spot, and the Giants gave him one. Plus, it was an opportunity to be reunited with former Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi.
“I think I could have come back here, for sure,” Wood said. “I really take a lot of pride in what we accomplished my five years in L.A. and finally getting over that ultimate hurdle last year to be able to win a World Series. I could have maybe came back here and and battled it out for a spot, but they’ve got a lot of good young arms who are the future of the organization . ...
“And I really just believe in Farhan. He’s a really smart guy and I was grateful for him believing in me this year in wanting to bring me on and help me be part of building something in San Francisco.”
Manager Gabe Kapler pointed to Wood’s “fierceness” and his superb preparation this season as he went 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA. Despite missing three weeks with COVID-19, Wood made 26 starts, his most since 2015, when he was 24. He turned into the Giants’ stopper, too; they went 12-2 in games he started after team losses.
The Dodgers knew Wood would want to go back to a starting role elsewhere, but they won’t forget what he meant for them in relief.
“Alex considers, and always has considered, himself a major-league starter and I respect that,” Roberts said, adding that in 2020, “where we were at, we needed him to buy into coming out of the ’pen and doing whatever we needed. He bought in, and he’s a great teammate.
“That buy-in and clarity and focus helped him navigate his role last year. And I don’t think we win the World Series last year without him.”