Steve Webb
NEW YORK, NY — Well, now. As far as the Dodgers are concerned, the first game of the NL Wild Card round couldn’t have gone any better. With Padres pummeling the Mets 7-1 in a lopsided affair, the Dodgers can sit back over the next two days and enjoy the following fun facts.
deGrom has to be used
The Mets were getting a little too cutesy with their starters, thinking that they would save Jacob deGrom for Game 3 if in fact they got the first win in their pocket. Well, that is off the table. With their season on the line, they have to break the glass and use deGrom. Even if he pitches a masterpiece and the Mets come back to win the series, he’s out of commission until at least Game 2 (short rest) or Game 3 of the NLDS. Both of which would make him pitching a Game 5 highly unlikely. So chances are, you see a full strength deGrom once in the series, and maybe a diminished deGrom for a few innings in Game 5.
This is why the Mets losing the division (even though they finished with an identical record with the Braves) is such a huge deal. This team was built on having two dominant aces in the postseason. With Scherzer getting shelled, and deGrom having to be used, all of that is in gigantic doubt.
Padres will use Snell on Saturday
Let’s say the Padres win this thing (which is certainly a strong possibility now). Then what will they have to throw at the Dodgers? Well, if they win on Saturday, they can start a well-rested Joe Musgrove on Tuesday and then back to Darvish and Snell in Games 2 and 3. Or, they could throw Mike Clevinger in there somewhere, too, I suppose. But if they burn through Musgrove and win on Sunday, even better. It’s hard to see the Padres winning a 5-gamer against the Dodgers if they have to start Clevinger in Game 1 and then Darvish, Snell, Musgrove. They could, but I like the Dodgers chances.
Let’s go Mets?
Much as I’d like a three-game series, I’d much rather play an 89-win team that the Dodgers have already beaten 15 times this year than a 101-win team that the team lost a tight series to in New York at the end of August. So, in a perfect world, the series goes three, and the Padres win. The second best of all worlds would be the Padres win on Saturday and get the sweep. But even if the Mets win in three, all these outcomes are good for the Dodgers. So let the chips fall where they may from here on out.
Tuesday can’t come soon enough for me.
