Los Angeles Times - 04.10.2019

D14 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

DODGERSVS.NATIONALS

Four rookies are on the

Dodgers’ National League

Division Series roster. A

fifth, Tony Gonsolin, nar-

rowly missed the cut. But

none of them were with the

club from the beginning this

season. The only rookie on

the Dodgers’ opening day

roster was outfielder Alex

Verdugo.

And it sounds as though

Verdugo, dealing with a back

injury for a month, will not

be on the roster for the end.

“As far as baseball activ-

ities, he’s really not doing a

whole lot,” Dodgers man-

ager Dave Robertssaid. “So

to see him ready at all in this

postseason, very unlikely.”

Verdugo, 23, was placed

on the injured list Aug. 6 with

a strained oblique. He was

scheduled to go on a rehab

assignment the first week of

September before rejoining

the Dodgers. That plan was

nixed when he injured his

back on a swing in a game

with the team’s rookie-level

affiliate Sept. 2. The rookie

outfielder was with the team

Thursday at Dodger Sta-

dium before Game 1 of the

NLDS. He was in workout

gear. He said he has prog-

ressed with his conditioning

program, but the rehab is

slow. He said he hasn’t

swung a bat or thrown a

baseball since injuring his

back.

Verdugo batted .294 with

12 home runs and an .817 on-

base-plus-slugging percent-

age in 106 games. He was one

of the Dodgers’ best at

avoiding strikeouts. If he re-

mains with the team — al-

ways an unknown after a

long offseason — he figures

to play a consistent role in

2020 after producing at the

plate while providing plus

defense in the three outfield

spots.

The Dodgers could’ve

used his defense and high

contact rate in October. In-

stead, Verdugo will be a

spectator.

“It could change but just

the trajectory he’s on,” Rob-

erts said, “it just doesn’t

seem likely.”

Matt Kemp drops by

One by one, the Dodgers

stopped by the bench to visit

the former teammate, who

was on their bench in a

Jackie Robinson jersey be-

fore Game 1.

Matt Kemp embraced

every one of them.

“What are you doing?”

Joc Pederson asked.

“Throwing out the first pitch

or something?”

“Absolutely not,” Kemp

replied. “That would mean

I’m done.”

Kemp, 35, intends on

playing next season. In his

second go-around with the

Dodgers last season, he was

the NL’s comeback player of

the year. Before the start of

this season, he was traded to

the Cincinnati Reds along

with Yasiel Puigand Alex

Wood. He fractured a rib col-

liding with an outfield wall in

late April and was released

by the Reds while on the in-

jured list.

Kemp was surprised by

the move.

“I wasn’t causing trou-

ble,” he said. “They had too

many options. I don’t think I

was in their plans.”

He signed a minor league

deal with the New York Mets

but played in only eight

games for their triple-A affil-

iate in Syracuse as he dealt

with the rib injury’s after-

effects. Once he recovered,

he started working out at

first base to make himself

more attractive to teams.

“It ain’t about the mon-

ey,” Kemp said. “I just love

competing. I like to play

baseball. You don’t think I

want to be out here with my

boys?”

NLDS REPORT

Verdugo

unlikely

for the

playoffs

By Jorge Castillo

MATT KEMP, right,

talks to Dave Roberts

before the game.

Harry HowGetty Images

Adam Kolarek had
waited a decade for this mo-
ment. His father used to
scout for the Baltimore Ori-
oles, and he grew up dream-
ing of a minute in the Octo-
ber spotlight. He played for
nine minor league teamsin
seven states before making
his major league debut.
So hats off to Gavin Lux,
who made his postseason
debut at 21. But Kolarek
made his at 30, and his Octo-
ber minute was literally that.
The national anthem
singer spent more time on
the field than Kolarek did.
He threw three pitches, and
his night was done. His
morning and afternoon had
dragged, in anticipation of

lining up on the third-base

line, sharing in the anthem,

taking in the fireworks.

“The day really crawled,”

he said. “I was really anxious

for game time.”

This wouldn’t be a story,

of course, had Kolarek not

done his job with distinction.

The final score might have

been lopsided — the Dod-

gers opened the National

League Division Series with

a 6-0 victory over the Wash-

ington Nationals — but Ko-

larek got a big out when the

game still was in doubt.

That was the only out the

Dodgers trusted him to get.

He is here to retire a left-

handed batter. Clayton Ker-

shaw or Kenley Jansen can

walk the first guy and strike

out the next; Kolarek usually

gets no second batter.

“I know the importance

of each pitch,” he said. “I try

not to let it be too jarring. I

know I have to bear down for

just a few short minutes.

“It’s a great role. It’s even

sweeter when you get your

guy out.”

Kolarek’s assignment on

this night was to retire Juan

Soto, the Nationals’ cleanup

batter and proud owner of

the “Childish Bambino”

nickname. When the Nation-

als finally roused from their

offensive slumber in the

eighth inning of Tuesday’s

wild-card game, Soto was

the guy who delivered the

game-winning hit.

The Nationals had out-

lasted Dodgers starter

Walker Buehler, who domi-

nated them over the first six

innings. They got one hit,

and all that seemed to stand

between Buehler and a shut-

out was his pitch count.

This would be the Na-

tionals’ chance, down 2-0.

Soto led off the seventh, but

his stay in the batter’s box

was brief.

Strike one. Strike two.

Strike three.

Soto stayed in the game,

of course. Kolarek did not.

He was not the reliever

the Dodgers fans coveted at

the July trade deadline, pri-

marily because they did not

know who he was.

He was drafted in the 11th

round, nine years ago. He

made his major league de-

but two years ago, at 28. He

was an especially anony-

mous bullpen cog for the

generally anonymous

Tampa Bay Rays.

This is the first year in

which he has not spent any

time in the minors. It could

be his last too.

He has done his job

splendidly, but his job could

cease to exist next year. The

so-called LOOGY — left-

handed, one-out guy — is an

endangered species.

If major league owners

enact their plan to force re-

lievers to face a minimum of

three batters next year, Ko-

larek could struggle to re-

main in the majors.

He faced at least three

batters in 38 of his 80 appear-

ances this season — and six

of 26 times with the Dodgers.

Thursday’s game marked

the ninth consecutive time

he has faced one batter, and

he has retired the batter

eight times.

Kolarek said he is not

worried about next year. His

splits justify how the Dod-

gers have used him — his ca-

reer OPS is .524 against left-

handed batters, .849 against

right-handed batters — but

he relies on a sinker, not on

the sweeping curve so preva-

lent among left-handed spe-

cialists.

“If I can get my ground

ball, I can still contribute,”

he said.

He attributed at least

some of his contribution on

Thursday to the fans. If he

had remained in Tampa Bay

and then made his postsea-

son debut in front of a sellout

crowd after playing in front a

mostly empty dome all sum-

mer, well, maybe he would

have been a little nervous.

“That’s an advantage of

playing at Dodger Stadium,”

Kolarek said. “You have a

good crowd every night.”

ADAM KOLAREKstruck out Nationals cleanup hitter Juan Soto on three pitches. Soto was the only batter Kolarek faced.

Wally SkalijLos Angeles Times

His one out is one for the ages

Called in to retire a

fellow left-hander,

Kolarek realizes his

postseason dreams.

By Bill Shaikin

The Washington Nation-
als were just 48 hours re-
moved from a raucous cele-
bration after their wild-card
win over Milwaukee on Tues-
day night, when players
bounced in unison to the
reggaeton thumping from
the clubhouse sound system
and turned the room into an
alcohol-soaked mosh pit.
Then the bright lights
came on in Dodger Stadium
on Thursday night, and the
Nationals looked like a team
in need of a fistful of Advil
and a cure for a nasty hang-
over.
Starting pitcher Patrick
Corbin had never walked
four batters or more in any of
the 1,147 innings he’s thrown
in seven big-league seasons;
the left-hander walked four
in the first inning of an even-
tual 6-0 loss to the Dodgers
in the opener of the National
League Division Series.
Veteran utility man
Howie Kendrick committed
one error in 304 chances of
the 48 games he played first
base this season; the 35-
year-old former Angel and
Dodger committed two er-
rors Thursday night, one
that allowed the second
Dodgers run to score, in the
fifth inning.
The Nationals are among
baseball’s most disciplined
teams at the plate — they
had the second-fewest
strikeouts and fourth-most
walks in the NL; they man-
aged two hits, struck out 13
times, walked three times
and “chased way over 20
pitches,” manager Davey
Martinez said, “which is un-

characteristic of our team.”

About the only phase of

their game that played true

to form was Washington’s

bullpen; Tanner Rainey gave

up a walk and a single in the

seventh, Fernando Rodney

gave up a two-run single, and

Hunter Strickland gave up

solo homers to Gavin Lux

and Joc Pederson in the

eighth.

“You see some weird

things in the playoffs,”

Kendrick said, “but some-

times things just happen.”

A few of those weird

things happened to Corbin

and Kendrick in the fifth.

With the Dodgers leading

1-0, Corbin struck out David

Freese and Justin Turner

and got ahead of dangerous

cleanup man Cody Bellinger

with two strikes.

But just as he did in the

first inning, when he lost

command of his fastball and

spiked a few too many slid-

ers, Corbin threw four of his

signature breaking pitches

for balls to put Bellinger on.

Washington third base-

man Anthony Rendon made

a spectacular back-hand

diving stop of Chris Taylor’s

shot down the line, but Tay-

lor beat the long throw to

first for a single, Bellinger

taking third on the hit.

Max Muncy ripped a

grounder to first. Kendrick

dropped his right knee to the

ground but still couldn’t

block the ball, which scooted

through his legs and into

right field. Bellinger scored

for a 2-0 Dodgers lead.

“You try to make every

play, and tonight it didn’t

work out,” Kendrick said.

“Unfortunately it’s in the

postseason, but I wouldn’t

change anything about the

way I tried to make that play.

Just one of those times you

miss it. You try to suck it up

and hope you make it up on

the other end. We weren’t

able to do that.”

The Nationals had five

hits against the Brewers on

Tuesday, rallying for three

runs in the eighth. Their best

scoring chance Thursday

came in the fourth, when

Dodgers starter Walker

Buehler walked three to load

the bases. The rally fizzled

when Asdrubal Cabrera hit

a one-hopper to the mound.

To even the series in

Game 2 on Friday night,

shortstop Trea Turner

thinks the Nationals need to

try a little easier.

“I feel like right now we’re

trying to do too much,”

Turner said. “It’s the post-

season, but we should have a

little bit of fun. Look around

... there’s energy in the sta-

dium, a great atmosphere.

“I don’t care what the

score is, what situation

you’re in, this is why you play

the game. I think if we realize

that, we can come out to-

morrow and play a little bet-

ter and have a little fun.”

Unbefitting the National character

Aberrant errors,

Corbin’s walks and

undisciplined offense

help sink Washington.

By Mike DiGiovanna

HOWIE KENDRICKdisputes a call after one of the Nationals’ 13 strikeouts.

Kendrick, usually a reliable fielder, also committed two errors at first base.

Wally SkalijLos Angeles Times