Following Wednesday’s disappointing 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game-2 of the 2020 World Series, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that he will hand the ball to 26-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler for Game-3 at Globe Life Field in Arlington TX on Friday evening, with the best-of-seven series now tied at a game apiece.

“We feel great,” Roberts told reporters following his team’s loss on Wednesday. “We’ve got Walker going, we’ve got Julio [Urías] going, and then we’ve got Clayton [Kershaw]. You look at kind of where our relievers are set with the off-day [on Thursday], we’re in a great spot.”

Then again, what else is he supposed to say, right?

But the Dodgers skipper has good reason to “feel great” about Buehler. It will be the Lexington, KY native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt’s 10th postseason start, during which he owns a 2-1 record and an outstanding 2.44 ERA.

Dodger fans may recall that Buehler did not allow a run and surrendered only two singles to the Boston Red Sox in Game-3 of the 2018 World Series in his 7.0 innings of work – a game that the Dodgers would win in a World Series record-setting 18-innings on October 26, 2018.

As for that Game-2 loss on Wednesday, it was yet another so-called ‘bullpen game,’ with 26-year-old right-hander Tony Gonsolin getting the start. Gonsolin, who made eight starts during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 regular season, gave up a solo home run to the second batter he faced and lasted only 1.1 innings.

Twenty-three-year-old right-hander Dustin May, who made 10 regular-season starts in 2020, entered the game with a runner on first and no outs in the fourth and promptly allowed four runs – including a devastating two-run home run to Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe – his second of the night – on an 0-2 count with two outs in the top of the fifth inning in his 1.1 innings of work.

“Yeah, it’s a big ask, to be quite frank,” Roberts said about Gonsolin and May pitching out of the Dodgers bullpen of late. “Right now with the off-days every team is going to go down a starter, so that’s one thing. And so people have to adjust to certain roles.

“And when you’re talking about playing seven days in a row and how you can get as many outs as you can in the [National League Championship Series], yeah, these guys are in uncharted territory and a credit to them, they’re not making excuses, they expect themselves to make pitches. It’s different, certainly. But we still need those guys to get important outs going forward for us to win this thing,” added Roberts

To their credit, the Dodgers made a strong attempt at a comeback, scoring four runs after the fourth inning. Unfortunately, the Rays had scored six.

Buehler, who finished the 2020 campaign with a 1-0 record and 3.44 ERA over eight starts, will square off against 36-year-old Rays right-hander Charlie Morton, who finished the regular season with a 2-2 record and 4.74 ERA in his nine starts.

Play Ball!

  *  *  *  *  *  *