Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Pretty good start to the series, eh? Sure, it was stressful, but the Dodgers ultimately prevailed behind a strong showing from the bullpen.
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Dodgers
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Nationals
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1:08 p.m.
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D.C.
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2B
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Utley
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CF
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Turner | |
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SS
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Seager
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RF
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Harper | |
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3B
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Turner
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LF
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Werth | |
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1B
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Gonzalez |
2B
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Murphy | |
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RF
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Reddick |
3B
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Rendon | |
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CF
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Pederson |
1B
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Zimmerman | |
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C
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Grandal | SS | Espinosa | |
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LF
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Toles |
C
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Lobaton | |
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P
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Hill (L)
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P
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Roark (R)
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In National League Division Series history, teams that have won Game 1 of a series have gone on to win the series 70 percent of the time. So that’s good.
As for Game 2, well it’s scheduled to start at just after 1 p.m. PST, but Mother Nature has different plans.
mlb expects dodgers-nats to be played today, though possibly with a delay at the 4 pm scheduled start
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 8, 2016
I’d be awfully shocked if this game’s first pitch is at 1:08 p.m. It appears the best window for getting Game 2 in (at least, most of it) is between 2 and 5 p.m.
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On the field, the Dodgers are deploying the same lineup as yesterday (save Rich Hill starting for Clayton Kershaw, obviously) against Nationals’ righty Tanner Roark. Just because Roark, 30, isn’t a household name doesn’t mean he isn’t a good pitcher.
Roark threw 210 innings for the Nats and posted a 2.83 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 20.1 K%, 8.5 BB%, .225 batting average against. Here’s a breakdown of his arsenal:
| Pitch | Avg. Velo | Usage |
| 4-Seam Fastball | 93.2 | 17.3 |
| Sinker | 92.8 | 45.0 |
| Curveball | 78.0 | 12.6 |
| Slider | 86.1 | 15.0 |
| Changeup | 84.5 | 9.8 |
Being primarily a sinkerballer, Roark had the 19th-best ground ball rate at 48.7 percent. It’s a solid number, but he isn’t Marcus Stroman (60.1 GB%) or Dallas Keuchel (56.7) on the bump. He can get a little wild as well, as he walked 73 hitters and hit the third most batters (13) in baseball this season.
With Stephen Strasburg down, Roark is the defacto No. 2 starter for Washington. I thought they might go with Gio Gonzalez so he could pitch in front of the home crowd, but Dusty Baker opted for the better pitcher in Roark.
Roark faced the Dodgers on June 21 and lasted 7 1/3 innings. He was doing well until that eighth inning when Yasmani Grandal touched him up for a 3-run home run that decided the game.
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Dave Roberts said Clayton Kershaw did his normal post-start routine. "Talking to the training staff, the back is not an issue," he said.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) October 8, 2016
I might dive into Kershaw’s start in a future post, but he definitely wasn’t himself. I’m just glad to hear it wasn’t anything injury-related.
"Everyone is available out of the 'pen," Dave Roberts says.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) October 8, 2016
As well they should be, as tomorrow is an off-day and the uncertain weather is sure to play a factor in today’s game.
1st question to Yasmani Grandal –why can Kenley Jansen handle 5out saves? "98 mph cutter" Something in his mentality? "No. 98 mph cutter"
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) October 8, 2016
Simple. To the point. And hard to disagree.
Julio Urias will start Game 4, Dave Roberts says. Unless the Dodgers are down 1-2, he does not want to use Clayton Kershaw on short rest.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) October 8, 2016
If Kershaw doesn’t go on short rest, the only other option is Ross Stripling. If not Kershaw, Julio Urias is the best option. The best thing would be if the Dodgers weren’t down 1-2 come Game 4.
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