The Dodgers aren’t going to have Max Scherzer start Game 6 of the NLCS due to arm fatigue, after the ace lasted only 4.1 innings in Game 2 and clearly wasn’t his regular self in the wake of his dramatic save in Game 5 of the division series in San Francisco.
Los Angeles also has lost Joe Kelly to an arm injury, and may be without reliever Justin Bruihl, too. Meanwhile, Atlanta will start Ian Anderson, the righty with a 1.35 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 26.2 innings over six career postseason starts, and also, yeah, Justin Turner is gone from the Dodgers lineup.
It’s a little over the top from the writers room on this series. We get it. Atlanta is in the middle of blowing another 3-1 series lead, and doing so despite returning home with absolutely everything appearing to be in their favor for Game 6.
Last year’s Game 6 opponent who kept Atlanta from clinching the pennant was Walker Buehler, but this time he’s lined up for Game 7, so this time around lines up as a reverse of that series, when Los Angeles won the finale with a one-inning start by Dustin May, followed by four relievers, including Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol, and Julio Urias tossing six no-hit innings to close it out.
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Atlanta has lost four of its last five Game 6s, with the one win coming against the Mets in 1999 when Al Leiter didn’t record a single out and gave up five runs in his start — in a game that Atlanta still needed 11 innings and a walkoff walk to win.
So don’t act all surprised when David Price shows up on the mound for the first time since October 2, and the first time in the playoffs since 2018, and gets a huge out, followed by Turner’s replacement on the roster, Andy Burns, hitting a three-run homer to force a Game 7. It’s too obvious.
