Giants manager Gabe Kapler might have to write out another starting lineup.
Merely seven hours before Thursday night’s highly-anticipated Giants-Dodgers matchup in Game 5 of the NLDS, Los Angeles announced a starting pitching change. Right-handed reliever Corey Knebel will get the start, likely in an ‘opener’ role, instead of scheduled southpaw Julio Urias.
On the surface, this looks like a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between Kapler and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
On Wednesday, Kapler told reporters he expected to roll out the same right-handed heavy group that “we normally have in there against quality left-handed starters.” That group would have likely included outfielders Darin Ruf and Austin Slater, first baseman Wilmer Flores and second baseman Donovan Solano.
Maybe Roberts read those quotes and decided he wanted to force the Giants and the matchup-based Kapler into some early substitutions by bringing in Urias in the second or third inning. According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Urias is not dealing with an injury, so this move by Roberts is pure strategy.
Knebel has pitched as an opener on four different occasions this year, including on Sept. 3 against the Giants, when he tossed two scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out two. Knebel only threw two types of pitches this season, a 96 mph four-seamer he throws about 58 percent of the time to go with his tightly-spun curveball.
So, how will Kapler react to the sudden change after game-planning for Urias the past 36 hours?
You’d think that lefties Mike Yastrzemski and Lamonte Wade Jr. would be used in the outfield along with lefty Tommy LaStella, whose nagging Achilles injury will be monitored closely by the team. On its face, having Yastrzemski and Wade in the lineup would bring more power than, say, Ruf and Slater, but lefties (.477 OPS) are actually faring worse than righties (.563 OPS) against Knebel this year.
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You already know that Kapler and his brainy staff are crunching the numbers and figuring out the ideal lineup while a confident Logan Webb awaits the start for the Giants.
When did Roberts make this decision, anyway? We should find out soon when the skippers sit down for their pre-game media sessions.
Chalk it up as another wrinkle in this historic rivalry, heading into the biggest showdown in Giants-Dodgers lore.