When the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies by a score of 12-2 late Saturday evening, it capped off the perfect day for the Dodgers and created the best-case scenario for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and his team.

Not only did it put the Dodgers and Rockies into a dead even tie in the National League West with identical 90-71 records thereby guaranteeing both teams a postseason berth heading into Sunday’s 2018 MLB regular season finale, it also sent (most) Dodger fans to bed knowing that their co-ace, 24-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler, would be on the mound for their beloved team against the hated San Francisco Giants on Sunday, and Washington Nationals ace right-hander Max Scherzer on the mound for the Nationals against Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson.

The perfect scenario indeed.

With their 10-6 win over the Giants on Saturday afternoon, the Dodgers guaranteed themselves a return to the postseason for a sixth consecutive time. And even though they celebrated accordingly, they also know full well that they still have work to do if they hope to capture a franchise record-setting sixth consecutive NL West title.
(Photo courtesy of LA Dodgers)

And then it wasn’t.

When Dodger fans awoke on Sunday morning, they did so to the news that: A) It would not be Buehler starting game number 162 for the Dodgers against the Giants on Sunday, but instead 38-year-old Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill; and that: B) It would not be right-hander Max Scherzer starting game number 162 for the Nationals against the Rockies on Sunday, but instead 25-year-old rookie right-hander Erick Fedde.

“It was a decision between myself, [Nationals general manager Mike] Rizzo, and Max,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told the media late Sunday evening. “And I really feel, you know, hey Max did his job, he threw 220 innings. And if anybody knows Max, he gives it all he’s got every time he goes out. So I wanted to make sure that he finished up the way he did, has a healthy winter and comes back ready for 2019.

“I understand integrity of the game, but both [the Dodgers and Rockies] are in [the postseason],” Martinez added. “I got to take care of my player.”

While Martinez may try to convince the media (and perhaps even himself) the his decision to “take care of [his] player” is a noble one, it certainly sounds as though the manager of the going-nowhere NL East second place Nationals is intentionally throwing his hat into the Rockies camp over the Dodgers. In fact, the extremely popular Nationals ace and likely NL Cy Young runner-up (behind New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom) pretty much said so himself.

“We talked earlier today, and [Rizzo] just expressed that this is an opportunity for Fedde,” Scherzer told the Washington Post. “He wanted to get Fedde a chance to pitch. He needs innings. He needs to work. And he needs to get experience.

“This is going to be a heck of an atmosphere for him tomorrow, a chance to go out there and get a taste of what it’s like to pitch in postseason-type baseball,” Scherzer added. “So for our organization, that’s the best thing for us.”

Talk about toeing the company line.

As for Hill pitching instead of Buehler in what is (now) the single-most important game of the season with the NL West Division title at stake, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decision (although it, too, undoubtedly came from above) makes a little more sense.

…a little.

Although the Dodgers and Rockies are both guaranteed a postseason berth, should they come out of Sunday’s season finale still tied in the NL West standings, the two teams would face one another in a one-game / do-or-die playoff game at Dodger Stadium on Monday to determine the division winner. That winner would have Tuesday and Wednesday off before the NLDS begins on Thursday, while the loser would have to play the Wild Card game on Tuesday. Needless to say, this would wreak havoc on the losing teams’ starting rotation and bullpen.

That being said, having Buehler available for either that potential one-game division tie-breaker or the win-or-go-home Wild Card game is huge, hence Roberts’ decision to pitch Hill on Sunday instead of Buehler. Additionally, if the Dodgers do prevail on Sunday and the Rockies fall to the Nats, Buehler and the entire Dodgers pitching staff – including their heavily used bullpen – would be well rested when the NLDS begins on Thursday, thus creating a new (potential) best-case scenario.

Whether you view the Nationals’ decision to bubble-wrap Scherzer a chump move or a wise one, the absolute bottom line is that the Dodgers have to take care of their own business at hand on Sunday regardless of who the Nationals pitch against the Rockies. And, as noted by popular Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis, Roberts’ (et al) decision to pitch Hill instead of Buehler could prove to be a very wise one:

Play Ball!