The Dodgers won 11 regular-season games in which their starting pitcher threw two innings or fewer, more than any National League team.
ATLANTA ― Max Scherzer tried to get ready in time to start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, two days after he recorded his first career save in Game 5 of the NL Division Series. Scherzer came close. After playing catch at Truist Park on Friday, his right arm still felt tired. Ultimately the Dodgers handed the ball to an “opener,” Corey Knebel, just as they did Thursday night in San Francisco. Manager Dave Roberts said right-hander Tony Gonsolin prepared to throw up to 60 to 75 pitches in relief Saturday. Otherwise, the Dodgers’ plan for Game 1 held true to the definition of a “bullpen game.” Scherzer will start Game 2 on Sunday, followed by Walker Buehler in Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium and Julio Urías in Game 4 on Wednesday. “I have zero experience of trying to pitch on one day of rest,” Scherzer said. “I do have experience of pitching on two days. In the 2019 run when I did pitch against the Dodgers, I relieved Game 2 and then started Game 4. And even in Game 4, that start, I went to (109) pitches and that was a very taxing start in and of itself. So I knew that if I was going to pitch (Saturday), I was going to be limited in some form or capacity, that it was going to be somewhere in the pitch count between, call it,60 to 90. I have no clue.” The postseason is historically a haven for teams with three or four outstanding starting pitchers.
