USA Today - 03.10.2019

SPORTS E3 USA TODAY z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 z 3C

Suffering, and the desperation it in-
spires, is always relative.
For the Dodgers, a three-decade
drought of World Series champion-
ships, a lifetime for one of the game’s
marquee franchises, and the recent
pain of consecutive Fall Classic defeats
breeda unique urgency in a game that
requires such modulation.
For the Nationals, three crushing
losses in winner-take-all Game 5s – and
four setbacks overall since 2012 in the
National League Division Series – have
fueled a desire to reverse the narrative
that a franchise too young to be cursed
is exactly that.
They meet in an NLDS that is burst-
ing with star power.
The six combined Cy Young Awards
and Hall of Fame credentials of Dodgers
lefty Clayton Kershaw and Nationals
right-hander Max Scherzer provide suf-
ficient gravitas. Throw in two of the
greatest young hitters in the game in Co-
dy Bellinger and Juan Soto, two of the
top three MVP candidates in Bellinger
and Anthony Rendon, and the Nation-
als’ $550 million worth of starting pitch-
ing excellence, and it’s clear this match-
up provides more than enough juice for
a mere best-of-five format.
Here’s how it might break down.

For starters

Projected rotations
zGame 1: LHP Patrick Corbin (14-7,
3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Walker Buehler (14-4,
3.26 ERA)
zGame 2: RHP Stephen Strasburg
(18-6, 3.32 ERA) vs. LHP Clayton Ker-
shaw (16-5, 3.03 ERA)
zGame 3: RHP Max Scherzer (11-7,
2.92 ERA) vs. LHP Hyun-jin Ryu (14-5,
2.32 ERA)
zGame 4: RHP Anibal Sanchez (11-8,
3.85 ERA) vs. LHP Rich Hill (4-1, 2.
ERA)
zGame 5: Strasburg vs. Kershaw
The Nationals come in on a high of
winning the wild-card game over Mil-
waukee but with the knowledge they
can’t align their pitching the way they’d
like. Corbin was a much better pitcher at

Nationals Park this season (a 2.40 ERA)

than he was on the road (4.18), but he

was the only one of their three 200-

strikeout guys not pressed into action in

Tuesday’s wild-card thriller. And he did

toss seven scoreless innings at Dodger

Stadium in May.

The bigger quandary is whether to

bring back Strasburg in Game 2 on two

days’ rest after he threw 34 pitches in re-

lief in the wild-card win. Otherwise,

Sanchez would start, and though he

pitches better on the road than at home

(3.48 ERA/4.24 ERA) that alignment

would limit Strasburg and Scherzer to

just one start each in the series.

While Mad Max remains the emo-

tional firebrand of the club, Strasburg,

right now, is the better pitcher. Scherzer

has yielded a 5.19 ERA and eight home

runs over 34^2 ⁄ 3 innings of his last six

starts, including Tuesday.

Strasburg, meanwhile, has evolved

into an elite postseason pitcher: Just

one earned run allowed in 22 playoff in-

nings (a 0.41 ERA) with 28 strikeouts. Do

the Nationals want him fully rested for a

Game 3 start at home? Or leave open the

possibility he could start a Game 2 and a

Game 5?

The Dodgers won 106 games this sea-

son, enabling them to ponder rotation

alignments since roughly Labor Day. Yet

entering Tuesday, manager Dave Rob-

erts would not reveal anything beyond

Game 4 starter Rich Hill. Buehler, Ker-

shaw and Ryu all pitch better at Dodger

Stadium, and while Buehler has the

highest ERA of the trio (3.02), he’s also

developed a strong rep as a big-game

pitcher. In 2018, he beat the Rockies in a

one-game division playoff, followed by

a strong outing in Game 7 of the NLCS

and seven scoreless innings in Game 3

of the World Series, the Dodgers’ lone

victory. Roberts announced Wednesday

that Buehler would start Game 1, fol-

lowed by Kershaw and then Ryu.

Checkers and chess

The Dodgers overwhelm opponents

by pairing the likely NL MVP in Bellinger

(47 homers, 1.035 OPS) with over-

whelming depth at almost every posi-

tion.

Eight players – four right-handed,

four left-handed - hit at least 15 home

runs, with catcher Will Smith and out-

fielder A.J. Pollock doing it in less than

100 games. Whether it’s Corbin or the

three right-handers starting, the Dodg-

ers can match up at an elite level

through nine innings and capitalize on

the fact Washington has just one lefty in

its bullpen.

The Nationals are not so fortunate.

Their lineup is legitimately dangerous

one through eight, particularly with the

pickup of Asdrubal Cabrera, who grinds

at-bats as good as anyone, and the un-

stoppable Howie Kendrick, who at 36

posted a .966 OPS and a 91.6% average

exit velocity, which ranks in the top

eight of the major leagues.

But their bench is far less powerful

and athletic than the Dodgers’. The

Dodgers’ bullpen features more trust-

worthy options than the Nationals’, par-

ticularly with Kenta Maeda assuming a

relief role in the playoffs.

Keep an eye on

Sean Doolittle:Daniel Hudson has

more or less supplanted him as the clos-

er, which means Doolittle will match up

in high-leverage spots earlier in the

game. His stuff and performance bot-

tomed out before an August injured list

stint with a knee injury, but it picked

back up in the season’s final week. Doo-

little versus lefty sluggers Bellinger, Co-

rey Seager, Max Muncy and Joc Peder-

son might be the difference in the series.

Seager:He missed the 2018 playoffs

after elbow and hip surgeries and was

not 100% for their 2017 World Series run

but returned this year with a vengeance,

leading the NL with 44 doubles and

posting a .817 OPS.

In the end

The Dodgers have fewer overall flaws,

superior depth and are better aligned

thanks to the spoils of their seventh

consecutive division title.

Dodgers in 4.

NLDS PREVIEW DODGERS-NATIONALS

Depth, bullpen will propel Dodgers

Gabe Lacques
USA TODAY

Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is scheduled to start Friday’s NL Division Series

against the Braves. EVAN HABEEB/USA TODAY SPORTS

In perhaps the biggest toss-up of the
four Division Series, the Braves and Car-
dinals square off in a best-of-five set
starting Thursday at SunTrust Park in
Atlanta.
Atlanta won the National League
East for the second year in a row, while
St. Louis makes its return to the post-
season after missing out the past three
seasons. Neither enters hot, with the
Braves losing five of six and the Cardi-
nals dropping four of five to end the reg-
ular season.
Of course, the Braves were without
superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. (hip) for the
final week. This series might hinge on
how well Acuña feels, particularly if the
nagging injury is holding him back on
the basebaths (37 steals) or in the field.
Without much postseason manage-
rial experience under their belts and
these games expected to be decided by
the tightest of margins, Atlanta’s Brian
Snitker and St. Louis’ Mike Shildt are
really going to be under the microscope.
Here’s what to expect:

For starters

Projected rotations
zGame 1 – Thursday: RHP Miles Mi-
kolas (9-14, 4.16 ERA) vs. LHP Dallas
Keuchel (8-8, 3.75 ERA)
zGame 2 – Friday: RHP Jack Flaherty
(11-8, 2.75 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Foltynew-
icz (8-6, 4.54 ERA)
zGame 3 – Sunday: RHP Adam Wain-
wright (14-10, 4.19 ERA) vs. RHP Mike
Soroka (13-4, 2.68 ERA)
zGame 4 – Monday: RHP Dakota
Hudson (16-7, 3.35 ERA) vs. LHP Max
Fried (17-6, 4.02 ERA)
zGame 5 – Tuesday: TBD
These certainly aren’t the sexiest ro-
tations in the postseason, but there’s
not a weak link in either, and we could
see some pitchers’ duels.

Flaherty has been undoubtedly the

best pitcher in baseball lately, posting a

0.91 ERA after the All-Star break, but

won’t start the opener since he pitched

seven innings Sunday to secure the NL

Central. Thus, Mikolas gets the ball for

Game 1. The 31-year-old has really strug-

gled away from home this season (5.

ERA vs. 3.01 at Busch Stadium), so that’s

certainly something to consider.

As good as Dakota Hudson has been

• especially in the second half (3.
  ERA) – the Cardinals might want to hold
  him back for a Game 4 so he could pitch
  in relief in the early games of the series.
  Flaherty would line up to start a Game 5
  on normal rest.
  For Atlanta, this is exactly why they
  signed Keuchel in June. The veteran lef-
  ty, 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 51^2 ⁄ 3 postseason
  innings, starts things off and will likely
  be followed by Mike Foltynewicz in
  Game 2. An All-Star in 2018, Foltynew-
  icz was demoted in June but came back
  strong with a 2.65 ERA after his return
  on Aug. 6, and the Braves went 9-1 in his
  starts. Mike Soroka,who would proba-
  bly be Rookie of the Year any other sea-
  son, will go Game 3 followed by young
  lefty Max Fried in Game 4.

Checkers and chess

Snitker will have his work cut out

with an iffy bullpen but theoretically en-

joys the platoon advantage against the

Cardinals’ right-handed-heavy lineup.

Mark Melancon has taken over the

ninth inning, but he’s far from lights out

at this point in his career, and you have

to wonder how the Braves will handle

the middle and late innings.

For the Cardinals, Matt Carpenter

had a disappointing season and was rel-

egated to the bench, but he has 150 post-

season at-bats, and Shildt could use

him as a super-sub late in games. Braves

right-hander Luke Jackson, holding

righties to a .157 average, could be used

to counter Carpenter.

Atlanta’s bench, a liability at the start

of the season, is now a strength, even

without injured Ender Inciarte. Billy

Hamilton’s presence is an absolute

game-changer, and as a pinch-runner

he will turn a walk or single into a runner

in a scoring position. Though Yadier

Molina’s ability to throw out runners

has diminished in recent years, he’s still

above the league average. His show-

downs with Hamilton should be a treat.

Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies

has come a long way against right-

handed pitching (.778 OPS vs. 696 in

2018), but he’s one of the game’s best

against lefties (.389/.414/.685 in 2019)

and will be at a disadvantage against the

Cardinals’ four starters. Still, Albies will

force Shildt to make some tough deci-

sions about how he uses Andrew Miller.

Keep an eye on

Darren O’Day:The veteran didn’t

make his 2019 debut until Sept. 7 but

looked great down the stretch and could

be the key out of Atlanta’s bullpen.

Kolten Wong:The Cardinals’ second

baseman was hampered by a hamstring

injury the last week of the season and

probably won’t be at 100%. Wong had

the best year of his career in 2019, slash-

ing .285/.361/.423 with 11 home runs.

In the end

Jack Flaherty has been absolutely

untouchable for months now. St. Louis

set things up perfectly to get their ace in

line to go in a potential Game 5.

Cardinals in 5.

NLDS PREVIEW BRAVES-CARDINALS

Flaherty, Cardinals will drop Braves in five

Jesse Yomtov
USA TODAY

The Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt tags out the Braves’ Ozzie Albies in May, but

Atlanta was 4-2 against St. Louis this season. JEFF CURRY/USA TODAY SPORTS

MLB