Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts officially announced Clayton Kershaw will start at Fenway Park in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler will follow in Games 2 and 3, respectively.
Roberts did not name who would start at Dodger Stadium in Game 4, but Rich Hill would be in line for the outing on seven days’ rest. He last pitched an inning in relief against the Milwaukee Brewers on Oct. 19.
The Red Sox also announced their rotation for the first two games of the World Series, and Kershaw will be opposed by their ace, Chris Sale, and David Price will start Game 2.
Kershaw has made three starts this postseason and was outstanding in two of them. He also made one relief appearance, closing out Game 7 of the National League Championship Series to help the Dodgers get back to the Fall Classic.
In 19 innings this postseason, Kershaw has pitched to a 2.37 ERA while striking out 16, walking four and limiting opponents to a .472 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Kershaw made 26 regular-season starts this year, going 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA, 3.19 FIP and 1.04 WHIP with 155 strikeouts and 29 walks in 161.1 innings. Game 1 will mark not only his first career start at Fenway Park but his first against the Red Sox.
Ryu struggled a bit in his NLCS Game 6 start, so this will be a bounce-back opportunity for him. He allowed seven hits and five runs in three innings in that game, his worst outing of the season.
Overall in three 2018 postseason starts, Ryu has yielded a 4.40 ERA and in 15 regular-season starts, he went 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA, 3.00 FIP and 1.01 WHIP.
Buehler came up big for the Dodgers in Game 7 against the Brewers, giving up just one run in 4.2 innings to get his team to the World Series, but he has otherwise struggled in his first postseason action. In three starts, he has yielded a 5.40 ERA although that number is skewed a bit by the home runs he gave up.
The 24-year-old had a phenomenal rookie campaign for the Dodgers, posting a 2.62 ERA, 3.04 FIP and 0.96 WHIP to go along with an 8-5 record in 24 games (23 starts). He was much better at home throughout the course of the season, which is where he will make his Game 3 start.
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