LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Alex Wood is coming home to start Game 3 of the NL Division Series at Dodger Stadium. For the Giants. The ex-Dodgers pitcher gets the ball\u2026<\/b>
\nLOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Alex Wood is coming home to start Game 3 of the NL Division Series at Dodger Stadium. For the Giants. The ex-Dodgers pitcher gets the ball Monday night against Los Angeles ace Max Scherzer with the best-of-five series tied at a game apiece. Wood was a key member of the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen in their run to the World Series championship last year after rejoining the team on a one-year deal. He became a free agent after the season and was eager to become a starter again. In January, he signed with the rival Giants. Wood was 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 26 regular-season starts. In three outings against his former team, the left-hander had a pair of 1-0 losses and a no-decision. He pitched six innings in each of the first two outings, allowing two runs and four runs. In his third outing, he was tagged for three runs. \u201cIf you look at Woody\u2019s numbers in the postseason, he\u2019s been incredible, whether it\u2019s starting or coming out of the bullpen,\u201d Game 2 starter Kevin Gausman said. \u201cObviously the Dodgers know that too, because they had him for a long time. It\u2019s going to be a good matchup and I\u2019m excited to watch Woody work.\u201d The Giants need to win one of the next two games in LA to force the series back to San Francisco for a fifth and deciding game. They won 4-0 in Game 1 and the Dodgers\u2019 bats came alive in Game 2 to produce a 9-2 victory. Wood was the obvious choice with so much on the line. He\u2019s come up big for the Giants following a loss, with the team going 12-1. \u201cHe\u2019s just pitched really well for us and in particular he\u2019s pitched well for us late, so that\u2019s the main consideration,\u201d Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. \u201cHe\u2019s one of our best three pitchers right now.\u201d Wood also has the benefit of experience and comfort in Dodger Stadium. He spent four seasons with the Dodgers, coming of age as a starting pitcher in their rotation after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves. He was an All-Star in 2017, when he began the season in the bullpen and became a starter when Rich Hill got injured. Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher to start a season 10-0 since Don Newcombe in 1955. He started one game in both the NL Championship Series and World Series that year and then came back and pitched two innings of shutout relief in Game 7. The Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros, whose cheating scandal was later revealed. ___ More AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/tag\/MLB and https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP_Sports Copyright \u00a9 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.<\/p>\n