The Dodgers, down 3-1 to the underdog Braves in the NLCS, are facing elimination heading into Game 5 on Friday. If the Dodgers do force a Game 6, though, they’ll use right-hander Walker Buehler as their starter, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group was among those to report.
Los Angeles has already turned to Buehler once in its series against Atlanta, which beat him in Game 1 by a 5-1 score. That wasn’t necessarily Buehler’s fault, though, as he turned in five innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts, five walks and three hits allowed. He has generally been effective in this year’s playoffs, evidenced by a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings, and is coming off a regular season in which he registered a 3.44 ERA/4.36 FIP with 10.31 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over eight starts and 36 2/3 frames.
Of course, the Buehler news will prove to be moot if the Dodgers don’t extend the series Friday. They’re turning to fellow young gun Dustin May in Game 5, while the Braves will rely on their bullpen as they try to close out the series.
The Dodgers. Lol.
Dodgers in 6
Not possible.
Cavs in 7
Psh. Expos vs Senators. Expos in 1.
Falcons over Patriots in OT.
Lol
Orlando over Lakers in 7
Goliath over David.
Briffle you still alive? You still like that Braves offense? As this series highlighted it’s primarily based on freeman and ozuna and not much else. Enjoy your offseason!
If the dodgers don’t get out of this, there should be no reason for Dave Roberts to have his job. Don’t know how he didn’t lose it last year. There’s no athlete I want to win a ring more than Clayton Kershaw. And who knows how 2017 goes if the Astros swing at one of his curveballs. No one looked at Peyton Manning and his playoff struggles after winning the super bowl, and I have no doubt Kershaw would be the same. But back to Roberts, he’s had so many bad calls. Not even just hind site is 20/20 calls. Just straight bad calls. I’d be totally shocked if he isn’t fired right after the game.
*A different angle
Roberts problems have been pretty much with the bullpen managment completely- How about hiring a bench coach to take care of all the bullpen calls every game and take that off his plate- There really isnt a logical explanation to why the head coach has to control the bullpen day in day out-
Roberts is a good day to day coach, great with the media, class act and he gels well with this squad very very well.
Id hope they would at least explore all avenues rather than just the quick hook so to speak here
An even different angle-
Should the Dodgers fire Roberts, the Red Sox would be idiots not to talk to Dave about taking over. The guy is a good (not great, but how many are?) manager and is a God in Boston.
I’m also so sick of hiring about Roberts’ “accomplishments.” 4 division titles? Chief Justice John Roberts, Cokie Roberts, Julia Roberts, and Dread Pirate Roberts all would have won 4 straight with that roster
that’s inconceivable
I have though news for people with that idea. Its not happening this year. Roberts will get one more chance at it in 2021.
Agree. The management night love him for following them blindly, but as a game calling manager, he has proven over and over that he doesn’t belong in a playoff contender team as the Dodgers
This entire thread was a nightmare to read. Do you guys type with your eyes closed?
If the Dodgers replace Roberts, they should see if they can lure the expected NL Manager of the Year, Don Mattingly, to manage them. I’m sure if they throw money at the Marlins, they’ll let Mattingly go there.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I could see Dodgers doing well with Mattingly.
Oh wait…
I know you’re joking but for once I actually want to see a Marlins manager stick around for a bit
The Dodgers seldom do things like that. But that said, I expect Roberts to be let go if they lose.
Meanwhile, Roberts back in Boston……Hmmmm…..
I really thought after we got to know Globe Life field in Padres series we would have an edge on the Braves for this series.
Now I feel sick
Does anyone know the number of the person who cleansed Wrigley Field to allow Cubs to finally win it all.
Dont be sick, game at a time. Win tonight and we are Ok
His name is Mr. Epstein.
Really? After beating the Padres without Clevinger and Lamet you thought the Dodgers would have the edge over the Braves with a healthier pitching staff?
Well, I guess playing the Brewers with no pitching and the Padres with injured pitching can be misleading about how good the Braves and their pitching really is.
You could turn it the other way too.braves got the reds who have no offense and the marlins who were playing over their heads all year. Neither team had any challenge to get to where they are.
So basically no one in the NL was good then Lol. Marlins beat the Cubs, so the Cubs must suck. Padres beat the Cardinals, obviously they’re bad too.
People didn’t put the Fried outing against Miami into context.
Marlins face Fried twice this season. They had success against him both times in the regular season.
Dodgers didn’t see any Brewers pitchers this year and their bats were relatively quiet. Again we see the dodger bats relatively quiet against a team they haven’t played at all this year.
Dodgers all that $$$ u spent, Stankees all that $$$ u spent. When will learn?!!? U cannot BUY a championship! Rays win this world series without a Mookie or a Cole.
Every movie needs a bad guy, relax and try to enjoy the show
every team in every sport buys their players so yes you can buy a championship
Uhhhh…the Rays are about to blow a 3-0 series lead to the Astros.
Well this is an errant comment. The Dodgers buying a championship?
The only big free agent they “bought” was AJ pollock. Mookie was a trade of highly regarded prospects followed by a large contract so they wouldn’t lose him following this season.
The rest of the players are either homegrown or acquired quietly through trades or low budget spring training invitations because their original clubs didn’t want them (ie Max Muncy, Justin Turner). Kershaw, Seager, Bellinger, Will Smith, Dustin May, Gonsolin, Urias are all draft picks.
Buying a championship? No. Not even close.
i love the dodgers, but this is their problem…name starts for NEXT game, when you MUST win this game. what if it is 2-2 after 9???
The only good thing Dave Roberts has done was steal a base against the Yankees.
Let’s get through game 5 first
We are one game from elimination, and I’m about to become winter guy
Game 6? They ain’t make it to game 6. Please fire Roberts! Need someone to light a fire under these guys. Not a Friedman puppet
This aged well.
Wonder if Buehler’s pants will be trending again?
Billy Beane said that his system (Sab. Metrics) doesn’t work as well in the playoffs as during the season. In the playoffs it’s more heart, guts, instinct etc.
Having guys that can’t play first (like Muncy) doesn’t help either. This crap of everyone playing everywhere doesn’t work in the heat of the postseason.
The best pitchers pitch well in the post season. Kershaw is the worst post season pitcher in baseball history.
Byung-yun Kim sure hopes he is.
Hes not the worst. Had a good nlcs the year arizona made it and won the ws. 3 appearances 5 innings no runs.
Kershaw gets dragged to the ws.
Verlander, Greinke, Maddux & many many more would disagree with your ridiculous generalization
Minter now has 4 pitches out of the zone called strikes, on both sides of the plate. Zero pitches in the zone not called strikes
baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?game_pk=635879…
Dustin May, zero strikes outside the zone called, FOUR pitches in the zone called balls
8 at bats impacted by this umpire in 2+ freakin innings. What a joke. JUST LET THEM PLAY AN EVEN GAME JFC
Give me the robots
First pitch to Smith just now wasn’t called a strike and it was in the zone. What I don’t get, is the Dodgers continue to look at those pitches, even when the umpire continues to call them strikes over and over. If he keeps calling it a strike, swing the bat.
Redickulous
Bad 0-1 strike on Freeman. Let em play!
Waited till end
Braves ended up with 11 called strikes that were on edge or out of of the K zone. 2 balls in zone missed
Dodgers had 2 called strikes that on edge or out of zone, same as Braves. And 5 strikes in the zone missed
That’s not a minor difference. It’s been 3 games evenly called and 2 games with crazy pro-ATL ratio. Not at all taking anything from Braves ability to win. It has been a fantastic+competitive series. I just want at least a close game when it comes to balls n strikes and stretching the zone from the ump
You are completely over blowing the impact of those calls. You make it sound like every game they’re working against the Dodgers. You’re acting like every single close call is going the Braves way. They missed one in Smith’s at bat, and the guy ended up hitting a three run home run.
make yer mother sigh old enough to know better
Let’s not count those chickens in LaLa land. Even when the Astros were down 3-0 against the Rays they still had a better chance of advancing than the Dodgers do at this moment.
One team (Houston) has the experience at being champions, while the other one in LA always finds a way to lose in October, even when they’re supposed to be the best team in baseball.
Lakers beat the Rockets in 5. Astros went 0-7 at home in the 2018 ALCS/2019 World Series
That rally bug that flew into Acuna was everything the Dodgers needed – we might see game 6 tomorrow!
Of course!
Long game ahead!
Dodgers lol
Snitkers bad game management tonight so far could and likely will cost them the pennant. Hopefully the boys can pick up the manager
Twice now Snitker has made a bullpen error. The chance of waking up Will Smith with a lefty was a very bad chance to take just to get out Muncy. The other one was not letting the Dodgers announce Rios and burn him last game.
A massive day tomorrow. Doyers will try and attack Fried early and raid him to try and knock him out early. I am hoping Fried will get to 6, but Buehler is extremely hard to beat with his elite pitching arsenal. Braves handed momentum to Doyers today with Ozuna’s error on bases not tagging up, and Pache could have caught Seager’s home run a la Muncy caught on the wall. It is unfortunate, but it’s the little things in these games that can make a shift of significant magnitude and give momentum to the other team. Danger tomorrow. Nothing but respect for Doyers. Could be heartbreak for the Braves and shattering if they don’t get to the WS after being up 3-1. The question is if Doyers win game 6, who’s starting game 7 for Doyers, Urias?
I don’t know if Pache could’ve got Seager’s homer. Smoltz talked like the wall stopped him but he got glove and wrist over the wall.
Muncy’s was higher and I’m not even sure it was out (maybe just over the wall, or even hitting the top and over), the camera angles weren’t great on that ball. But Seager’s was over Pache’s glove, which was above and over the wall and well timed.
As for a potential Game 7, Urias/Gonsolin/May would likely be the 2-3 innings guys, with Urias potentially going 5-6 if he shoves. I’d actually prefer he doesn’t start, but that they’d go with an opener for the 1st, as Urias struggles in the opening inning more often than not. The difficultly there is who would you burn to get Urias a later “start” and would you go more than one inning with that opener? It’d be do or die, so you’d want to pitch someone you have confidence in, but you wouldn’t want to burn a guy you’d prefer to have for higher leverage late innings. Nor would you want to throw out someone lesser, and see a quick 1 or 2 run deficit either.
Big Game 7 feels a long way away, Dodgers have to take Game 6 first, and that’s not exactly a given with Fried on the bump.
Like I said in the other thread, I had hoped Tomlin went after Minter. He ends up pitching two shutout innings while everyone after Minter gives up runs. Ozuna’s mess up was like when a football team is about to score a td, but turns it over and the other team scores a td right away. Huge momentum swing. Simply put, Ozuna’s mess up and Pache not making that play completely changed the game. Fried better be on tomorrow, because I don’t see the Braves winning a game seven.
@Briffle2 Have to agree, even though I love Ian Anderson, it is a lot to ask of him and the pressure will be astronomical. If it gets to game 7 the tsunami of momentum with the Dodgers will make it extremely difficult for the Braves.
If the Braves choke away this series it could rank up there with the 96 WS.
if?
Glad Fried is proving me right again – not an ace and will never be!
All up to Anderson!
Yes ‘Acunaisoverrated’ now ‘Soroka’sHealingAnkle’, even though Soroka’s ankle is not injured and it was his Achilles tendon, but never let facts get in your way.
How about we not leave runners all over the bases and score a few runs for him. You’re a laughing stock.
You kidding right? You still think Fried is an ace? An ace does not fall on his face two straight years in big games. One bad inning is sometimes all you need to lose.
But yes, the offense is sad. Acuna should probably learn to get on base a bit.
WB was terrible too. He threw one pitch and the Braves looked like a minor league team.
Again, the Dodgers will not beat the Braves.
Braves once again beat themselves!
Let’s be objective.
Anderson will be an ace. He is and will be better than Fried.
If the Braves want to win tomorrow, they need to get Acuna out off the leadoff spot. That won’t happen, so congrats on giving the trashbag Dodger team another free win.
At some point, enough is enough. How many more excuses can you give this garbage organization in the playoffs. No excuse to choke this series. The Braves are NOT outmatched in these games against the Dodgers. The Dodgers are nothing special. They are beatable. Stop ****ing choking and ****ing win tomorrow.
Do it for your ****ing city for once. I don’t live in the ATL nor care about it. Beat the ****ing Dodgers and don’t let them crawl all over you again. Show them who is ****ing boss is!
You haven’t got a clue about baseball, try trolling another sport.
The offense went 2-11 with runners in scoring position, as I said you haven’t got a clue, and if you look up the page I said that the Dodgers would go after Fried early. In all three games against Fried/Anderson and Fried again, they went after them early and tried to get them out of the game. We had opportunities to be back in the game (because Fried allowed nothing after that 1st inning) and only a magnificent play by Betts stopped a run from scoring. There have been three crucial plays that swung momentum, Betts caught a fly ball off Swanson maybe inches off the ground yesterday, Ozuna didn’t tag up, Betts caught Ozuna’s fly ball at the top of an 8ft wall that would have made it a 1 run ball game, and Seager’s home run yesterday that Pache probably could have caught.
The Braves did not hit when it counted today. 9 hits a piece says it all, but none of the Braves hits were clutch hits, and we sent up Sandoval when it was too late. You have to gamble when the game is on the line with runners on.
WTF is your point? I just said the Braves choked these games and had every opportunity to win it already for the same reasons you mentioned.
Don’t forget Albies boneheaded mistake tonight either.
The Dodgers are getting lucky the Braves are not playing like they care.