PHILADELPHIA — It came as little surprise Saturday when Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced Jesus Luzardo as the starter for Monday’s Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
The decision allows Ranger Suarez to be available out of the bullpen in Saturday’s Game 1. Thomson said he will not announce a Game 3 starter until after Game 2, though Suarez is the favorite for that role.
“He’s just pitched so well the last month,” Thomson said of Luzardo. “And he had pitched prior to Ranger during the regular season. It just made the most sense to me.”
Thomson on Friday tipped his hand to which way he was leaning. In recent weeks, he’s said he’s comfortable starting three straight lefties, Cristopher Sanchez long since decided for Game 1.
He’s also laid out the strategic framework for how it might work. Luzardo was popping the mitt at 98 miles per hour in Wednesday’s intrasquad game, and he overcame midseason speedbumps to post a 3.12 ERA in six August starts and 3.21 in four starts in September.
Suarez is craftier, if such a term can be applied by a franchise that once employed Jamie Moyer, effective with a fastball in the low 90s. Suarez was outstanding in June, then stumbled midseason and has been just OK down the stretch, with a 4.10 ERA in 11 starts since Aug. 1.
“I think it’s kind of two different guys, so it’s not like we’re pitching the same guy back to back,” Thomson said Friday. “I’m comfortable with that if that’s what we do.”
Despite the lefties at the top of their lineup, the Dodgers had baseball’s third-highest OPS (.764) against left-handed pitchers this season.
“I think our lefties are pretty drastically different in the way they pitch and the stuff,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said Friday. “They all use different pitches. They all throw different velos. I know they’re three lefties but we’ll be attacking their hitters all differently with all three of them. … If we do end up throwing three lefties out there, I don’t see it as a problem.”
The one matchup chance for the Dodgers Saturday in Game 1 was to sit lefty Max Muncy. That shifted Kike Hernandez to third base and added Alex Call in left field.
Suarez has experience out of the bullpen in the postseason, with two relief appearances in 2022, including a save to close the NLCS in Game 5. But then, the Phillies didn’t have a set closer and Suarez fixed a problem.
Now, Thomson says he’s “really comfortable with our leverage guys at the end,” including three matchup lefties. So Suarez shapes as either a bridge if Sanchez gets into trouble or an extra-innings option.
Aaron Nola, who could be an option to start Game 3, is available for emergencies Saturday.
“It could be length. It could be starting,” Thomson said of Nola’s role.
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In what wasn’t a surprise, the Phillies’ Division Series roster Saturday featured 12 pitchers and 14 position players. With the extra day off, requiring only three starting pitchers and fewer relief arms, that was to be expected.
All six starting pitchers at season’s end are included, with Walker Buehler, Nola and Taijuan Walker. Of the pitching acquisitions ahead of the Sept. 1 roster deadline, Tim Mayza made the team as a third bullpen left-hander, while Lou Trivino as the long man did not.
Two fewer pitchers means the Phillies have bench options to play matchups. Both Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson made the roster. Wilson is a particular weapon against left-handed pitching.
“He can play all over the diamond, swings the bat, has got a great approach,” Thomson said of Kemp. “I see him or Wilson probably playing left field against left-handed pitching, maybe pinch-hit. Wilson is more of a pinch-run guy.”
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In the absence of Trea Turner, the Phillies used Harrison Bader as the leadoff man for stretches, in part of a scorching end to August and start to September by the trade deadline acquisition.
On Saturday, Bader hits eighth for the Phillies against the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani. Part of the logic from Thomson is to lengthen the lineup and turn it over with the speed of Bader eighth and Bryson Stott ninth. Part of it is to make sure the Phillies don’t have two consecutive lefties other than Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at 2 and 3. The Dodgers carry four lefties in their bullpen.
“He’s played himself into the everyday centerfielder in my mind, because of the defense,” Thomson said of Bader. “I trust that he’s going t swing the bat and get on base. Hitting him in the eighth spot today is more about turning the lineup over with him and Stott at the end, and we get to Trea and Schwarber and Harper.”
Bader hit .305 in 50 games since coming over from the Twins. Stott is hitting .310 since Aug. 1.
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The Dodgers made two changes from the Wild Card series, both for pitching length.
Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Banda are rostered, in place of relievers Justin Wrobleski and Edgardo Henriquez. Both are options in their bullpen jigsaw. They are carrying just 11 pitchers other than Ohtani and 15 position players.
Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, has said he’ll retire at the end of the season. He’ll be a length option, as the Dodgers are likely to start Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Games 2 and 3.
Wrobleski’s exclusion is expected: The lefty allowed five earned runs in a third of an inning on Sept. 16 to the Phillies.
The Dodgers will also stick with three catchers. Will Smith is working back from a hand fracture. He last played on Sept. 9.
“It’s really close to 100 percent,” Smith said Saturday. “Looking forward to being out there playing and helping the team win. … I feel like I could go nine innings right now and be good.”
Ben Rortvedt started both of the Wild Card games, getting three hits in six at-bats. He hit .224 in 18 games for the Dodgers after being picked up from Tampa Bay. He’s a career .190 hitter.
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Zack Wheeler was in town Saturday for Game 1 of the NLDS, for which he supplied some hype video voiceover.
Wheeler had thoracic decompression surgery on Sept. 23 in St. Louis to treat a case of venous thoracic outlet syndrome. His season is over, and he’s facing a recovery period of six to eight months. But he’ll be around to lend a voice to the clubhouse.
“He gives us a lot of confidence, even if he’s not playing or pitching,” Thomson said. “He’s here today. How much he’s going to be with us, I’m not 100 percent sure, but he wanted to be here today and I’m glad he’s here. He’s a great person to have around. He just has that aura about him.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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