ATLANTA — Celebrating on the field after the NL Division Series-clinching Game 5 victory over the Giants on Thursday night in San Francisco, Max Scherzer had a plan for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
“Party tonight, figure it out tomorrow,” Scherzer said after pitching the final inning for his first career save.
Scherzer threw 13 pitches in the final inning of Game 5 three days after throwing 110 pitches in seven innings of Game 3. In the immediate aftermath of the win in San Francisco, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was still “the plan” to start the three-time Cy Young Award winner two days later in the first game of the best-of-seven NL Championship Series.
As some players (including Scherzer) were going through an optional workout at Truist Park on Friday night, Roberts hedged that somewhat, saying the Game 1 start would hinge on how Scherzer felt after playing catch and getting treatment from the training staff on the off day.
“If he says he’s good enough to go and feels he can take down a start then he’s going to be our Game 1 starter,” Roberts said Friday night from the team hotel, where the front office and staff were meeting to discuss the NLCS roster and plan for the series.
If Scherzer does not start Game 1, Roberts said right-hander Tony Gonsolin would in what would amount to a bullpen game. Scherzer would likely move back to Game 2 in that case with Walker Buehler pushed back to Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, giving him six days off following his short-rest start in NLDS Game 4.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said it wouldn’t surprise him to see Scherzer take the mound in Game 1.
“That’s probably like a side (session Thursday) for him right there and take a day off,” Snitker said of Scherzer, who did not throw his usual between-starts bullpen session following Game 3. “This guy is just a different animal. I mean, they say that he’s a Hall of Famer and those guys are – man, they’re cut from a different cloth than the normal guys.
“So it won’t surprise me at all if he shows up and is on the mound.”
MUNCY PROGRESS
Sunday will mark two weeks since Max Muncy dislocated his left elbow and injured the joint on a play at first base. The Dodgers are still not willing to rule him out for the NLCS. Rosters for the series have to be set on Saturday morning.
“If he feels he can do something at any point in the series, then it’s something we have to consider,” Roberts said. “Still unlikely. But we’re holding out hope as much as we can.”
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Muncy has been “moving around and doing some things.” Asked if those “things” involved a baseball bat, Friedman repeated “He’s been moving around and doing some things.”
PARTY TIME
After beating the Giants on Thursday night, the Dodgers celebrated at their hotel in San Francisco before traveling to Atlanta on Friday. But third baseman Justin Turner described it as a “very low-key” celebration.
“They had a little outdoor tent set up for us with some food, and just kind of hung out,” Turner said. “It was almost the opposite of what we experienced after every round in the bubble last year, which felt more like a big party.
“We also knew we had an early flight today, so it was pretty mild. They didn’t even let us turn the music on. They yelled at us for the music. They said no music after 10 o’clock.”