Giants manager Gabe Kapler and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the media Thursday afternoon ahead of the epic Game 5 NLDS showdown between the two rivals.
Clearly, the topic du jour was Roberts’ decision to use right-handed reliever Corey Knebel as an opener instead of starting southpaw Julio Urias.
Kapler said he received a “courtesy text” from Roberts Wednesday night, alerting him of the switch. The public didn’t find out until the Dodgers announced the move via Twitter late Thursday morning.
“It's understandable,” Kapler said. “I don't think it was unexpected. Certainly changes the way we were thinking about today's game, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
Roberts said he wasn’t fully responsible for the late starting pitching change.
“It's, from all the way to the tippy top of the Dodgers organization on down,” Roberts said. “It was a decision that we all made together.”
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Kapler didn’t share an updated lineup as of about 3 p.m. PT, three hours before the 6:07 p.m. PT scheduled first pitch at Oracle Park. Kapler said he was waiting to see how Tommy La Stella felt with his nagging Achilles injury in a pre-game workout before deciding the starter at second base, with right-handed hitting Donovan Solano another candidate to play.
Kapler also addressed the possibility of using starters Alex Wood and Kevin Gausman as relievers behind confident 24-year-old starter Logan Webb.
“They're both prepared to take the ball today in any situation,” Kapler said of Wood and Gausman. “There's no restrictions on them. Gausman has a full slate of pitches, if necessary. I don't know that we would throw Alex Wood out there for 50 or 75 pitches, but certainly capable of taking down an important inning for us or coming in to face a batter or two.”