Dodgers’ Max Scherzer planned NLCS Game 1 starter against Braves

Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
2 Comments

ATLANTA — Max Scherzer is expected to throw the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first pitch in the NL Championship Series only two days after delivering the final pitch in their NL Division Series-clinching win.

Unusual? Yes. And yet no one is surprised.

“That is Scherzer being Scherzer,” teammate Cody Bellinger said.

Scherzer is expected to face Braves left-hander Max Fried in Game 1 on Saturday night in an NLCS rematch. The Dodgers beat the Braves in seven games in last year’s NLCS before winning the World Series.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he plans to start Scherzer even after the NL Cy Young Award contender earned his first career save in a 2-1 victory over San Francisco in Game 5 of the NLDS.

Following the game, Robert said he understood “there might be a cost” in using Scherzer in the closing role as the Dodgers faced the quick turnaround before opening the NLCS.

Whatever that cost, the plan is for Scherzer to start the opener.

“That won’t surprise me,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said before Atlanta’s workout at Truist Park.

Snitker said Scherzer’s 13-pitch ninth inning was like an off-day session in the bullpen.

“That’s kind of like a side for him right there,” Snitker said. “The guy is just a different animal. I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer and those guys, man they’re cut from a different cloth than normal guys so it won’t surprise me at all if he shows up and is on the mound.”

Scherzer recorded two strikeouts, including a controversial check swing by Wilmer Flores to end the game. First base umpire Gabe Morales ruled Flores swung, though TV replays indicated Flores held up.

Scherzer was 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA for Washington and Los Angeles this season, including 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts for the Dodgers. He has pitched 12 1/3 innings over three appearances in the playoffs, allowing two runs and six hits with 16 strikeouts.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said he was wondering who would pitch the ninth inning for Los Angeles on Thursday night as he watched the game on TV.

“And then they showed Max running up and I said, `That’s the guy,”‘ Freeman said. “I don’t think anybody else would want anybody else other than Max in that game. He’s a bulldog, facing him for years.”

Freeman said he never doubted Scherzer would want the ball in the NLCS opener even after the relief appearance.

“He’s going to come back, I bet, tomorrow, and pitch against us and he’s going to be Max Scherzer,” Freeman said.

Roberts planned to confirm his rotation plans with Scherzer after the team’s arrival in Atlanta and workout Friday night to “just kind of see where he’s at. But as of now that’s kind of where we’re at.”

Fried moves up as Atlanta’s Game 1 starter after Charlie Morton pitched on short rest in the Braves’ 5-4 clinching win over Milwaukee in the NL Division Series on Tuesday night.

Fried joins Morton and Ian Anderson to give Snitker a reliable three-man rotation. Snitker plans to have a bullpen game that could include Huascar Ynoa and Drew Smyly.

When the Braves lost to the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, Fried was joined by three rookies – Anderson, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson – in the rotation.

Led by Morton, Fried and Anderson, the Braves recorded two shutouts in the division series against Milwaukee. Atlanta limited the Brewers to six runs in four games.

“I feel really good about all three of the guys we’re going to be featuring,” Snitker said. “I’d say it’s a significant difference than a year ago when we started this tournament.”

Bellinger hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth and Mookie Betts set a postseason career high with four hits in the decisive win over the Giants.

The Braves are preparing to be without outfielder Jorge Soler in the series as they await his clearance following his positive COVID-19 test.

Dansby Swanson replaced Soler as the leadoff hitter against the Brewers. Snitker said he was still considering Swanson and other options for his leadoff hitter.

Trevor Bauer pulls on No. 96 for Yokohama’s BayStars

Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
4 Comments

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Trevor Bauer apparently was shunned by every major league team, so he’s signed a one-year deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Before about 75 reporters in a Yokohama hotel, he slipped on the BayStars uniform – No. 96 – on Friday and said all the right things. Not a single Japanese reporter asked him about his suspension in the United States over domestic violence allegations or the reasons surrounding it.

The only question about it came from The Associated Press. Bauer disputed the fact the question suggested he was suspended from the major leagues.

“I don’t believe that’s accurate,” he said of the suspension. “But I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to pitch again. I’ve always wanted to play in Japan.”

He said the suspension dealt technically with matters of pay, and he said he had contacted major league teams about playing this year. He said he would have been eligible, but did not say if he had offers.

The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Jan. 12, three weeks after an arbitrator reduced his suspension imposed by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred from 324 to 194 games.

The penalty followed an investigation into domestic violence, which the pitcher has denied.

Manfred suspended Bauer last April for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her in 2021.

Bauer has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying everything that happened between him and the woman was consensual. He was never charged with a crime.

Bauer joined his hometown Dodgers before the 2021 season and was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts before being placed on paid leave.

Bauer said his goal with the BayStars was to strike out 200 and keep his average fastball velocity at 96 mph – hence his uniform number. He said he is also working on a better change-up pitch.

He said he hoped to play by mid-April – about two weeks after the Japanese season begins – and said he has been training for the last 1 1/2 years.

“I’ve been doing a lot of strength training and throwing,” he said. “I didn’t really take any time off. So I’ve had a year and a half of development time. I’m stronger than ever. More powerful than ever.”

Yokohama has not won a title in 25 years, and Bauer said that was his goal in the one-year deal.

“First and foremost, I want to help the Stars win a championship,” he said. “That involves pitching well. That involves helping teammates and learning from them. If they have questions – you know – share my knowledge with them.”

He also repeated several times about his desire to play in Japan, dating from a collegiate tournament in 2009 at the Tokyo Dome. He said playing in Japan was on his mind even before winning the Cy Young – and also immediately after.

“The Tokyo Dome was sold out,” he said. “I’d never played in front of that many people – probably combined in my life. In the United States, college games aren’t very big, so seeing that amount of passion. How many people came to a college game in Japan. It really struck me.”

He said he’d been practicing with the Japanese ball, which he said was slightly softer with higher seams.

“But overall it just feels like a baseball and the pitches move the same. The velocity is similar. I don’t notice much of a difference.”

Other teams in Japan have made similar controversial signings before.

Former major league reliever Roberto Osuna – who received a 75-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy – signed last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines.

He has signed for this season with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

In 1987, Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe, who had a career plagued with drug problems, tried to sign with the Seibu Lions. But he did not play in the country after the Japanese baseball commissioner disqualified Howe because of his history of drug abuse.

Bauer was an All-Star in 2018 and went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 seasons for Arizona (2012), Cleveland, (2013-19), Cincinnati (2019-20) and the Dodgers. He won the NL Cy Young Award with Cincinnati during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.