The Dodgers and Braves are ready to get things started in the National League Championship Series. After both teams bested their opponents in the Division Series, Los Angeles and Atlanta will battle it out again to decide who goes to the World Series.
To get things started, the Dodgers will once again turn to RHP Corey Knebel in Game 1. Knebel was the starting pitcher in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Giants rather than going with Julio Urias right out of the gate.
Dave Roberts had mentioned that Max Scherzer could be a possibility to pitch in Game 1 despite closing out the series on Thursday. Knebel getting the start doesn’t necessarily mean that won’t happen, but it makes it far less likely.
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The expectation is that the Dodgers will go with a bulk guy after Knebel. That could be a number of guys, including Tony Gonsolin. Gonsolin is technically the 4th starter in Dave Roberts’ rotation, but he did not make an NLDS appearance. In fact, his last appearance came on the last day of September.
The Dodgers could also pivot completely to a bullpen game, though that does seem like a tough way to start off a series. Especially when that series could go 7 games/. Stay tuned.
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