Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — In a move that caught a lot of folks off guard, the Dodgers have announce that it will be Corey Knebel, and not Julio Urias who will be starting the game this evening in Oracle Park.
In a move that seems a little too clever for its own good, Urias will be coming out of the bullpen, most likely in the second and take over from there. Urías threw just 72 pitches in the Dodgers’ Game 2 win Saturday. He’ll take the mound Thursday, whenever that is, on regular rest.
Gamesmanship from Doc?
The Dodgers did not indicate that Urías wouldn’t start until the announcement was made on Twitter. He was the listed starter and manager Dave Roberts said Urías would take the mound. On Wednesday, Urías spoke to the media on a Zoom call from Dodger Stadium before the Dodgers flew to San Francisco as if he would start.
The idea is of course to bait Gabe Kapler into burning his lefthanded bats in the first inning when the righty Knebel is on the mound. Or, conversely, Kapler could go with a lineup ready for Urias, but then be overmatched against Knebel in the first, effectively shortening the game for Urias. If they can get six innings out of Urias, then they can be into Treinen/Jansen territory right away and not have to worry about the sixth and seventh innings.
Knebel a good choice
There are reasons to think this strategy will work. Knebel hasn’t given up an earned run in over a month. However, you are putting a lot of eggs in the basket of a guy who has pitched under 30 innings this year. This is one of those moves that will look great if it works, and will look horrible if it fails. We’ll see how the gambit plays out in about six hours.
