Steve Webb
SAN FRANCISCO — Well, it figures. Much as Dodger fans would have liked to close out the Giants at home, the baseball gods had other ideas. They summoned up a mighty wind to keep a couple of balls in the yard on Monday night, denying the Dodgers’ a victory despite a great start from Max Scherzer and lock-down work out of the Dodgers’ bullpen. With one swat of his aging bat, Evan Longoria made sure that the series would return to Oracle Park on Thursday night. So here we are.
Dodgers have outplayed Giants so far
Everything in this series has favored the Dodgers except the number of wins. Overall, the Dodgers have had better pitching (Only allowing nine earned runs over four games). They have had better starting pitching (2.33 ERA to 2.79). They have pitched much better out of the bullpen (1.59 ERA vs. 5.17). They have had better hitting (40 hits so far to the Giants’ 23). They have hit with more power (Eight doubles and five home runs, compared to the Giants, who have three doubles and four long balls). So, the Dodgers should win this one easily, right?
Webb coming off a strong Game 1 start
Not so fast, mister. There is a 24-year-old right-hander on the mound that stands between the Dodgers’ and a rematch with the Atlanta Braves in NLCS. The Dodgers, in three shots this year, have yet to solve the puzzle that is Logan Webb. In Game 1, the Dodgers kept chasing pitches out of the zone, and as Dave Roberts put it, the LA hitters were “only using the driver” instead of the other clubs in the bag. That approach has to stop if the Dodgers are going to break through. And it needs to start early. Webb’s ERA in the first inning is 3.81, showing that he is “gettable” right off the bat. With the Dodgers’ top of the order all coming off two-hit games on Tuesday, there is a real opportunity to strike first against the Giants, which will be critical in this one.
Plus, Game 1 aside, Webb has not been that fantastic in the last month of the season. He had a 3.75 ERA in September, and got knocked around pretty good by the Padres in his final start of the year, giving up four earned runs in a seven-inning outing. The Dodgers just need to be disciplined and patient, and force Webb to throw strikes. The rest will take care of itself.
In Julio we trust
Because of his first start of the series, everybody in the media has been all Logan Webb, all the time. However, let’s not forget we have a pretty lights-out guy throwing for the Dodgers as well. Julio Urias’s record over the last month of the season is every bit as good as Webb’s, in fact, better. In September, Urias’s ERA was a minuscule 2.20 with WHIP of 0.69. Plus, his clutch pitching in the 2020 NLCS and World Series is already the stuff of Dodger legend. Clearly, El Culichi is up to the task. He’s been there before. Webb has not. That could make the difference in a decisive game.
Turner must produce (both of them)
To me, the game comes down to the Turner boys. If we can get good games out of Trea and Justin, I think we’re going to win this one pretty easily. Trea got going with two hits in Game 4, but Justin has been pretty silent since his homer in the Wild Card game. Which is a surprise, since he’s been such a reliable postseason bat. I’m sure he would love nothing more than to come up big in the biggest game of the year so far. In fact, JT has barreled up Webb pretty well in the past, so hopefully, he can find it tonight.
Is this the World Championship?
I feel like whoever wins this Game is going to win the World Series. Atlanta, though they’re hot now, hasn’t been very good against either team, as evidence by the Dodgers sweep of the Braves at home in the regular season. The Giants struggled with the Braves in Atlanta, but were quite successful in Oracle Park in September. They won a three-game series against them in the middle of the month, winning the first two until being shut out in the finale on September 19. So, though the Braves have the pitching to put up a fight, both the Giants and the Dodgers are going to be too much for the Braves in a seven-game series. As far as the American League is concerned the less said about cheaters, the better.
Let’s do this!
Dodgers vs. Giants. Somebody’s got to go home. It should be epic. This season the Giants have seemed to have been sprinkled with magic pixie dust all year, winning games that they had no business winning en route to their first division title since 2012. But if the Dodgers’ players show up, and be who we know they are, they’re going to win this game. However, they have consistently frustrated fans at the exact moment that they should be grabbing the brass ring. Every time they’ve had an opportunity to pass the Giants once and for all, they’ve come up short. Well, they’ve got one last chance. Are they going to take it?
