One night removed from Clayton Kershaw’s gem, the Los Angeles Dodgers relied on their bullpen against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the World Series.
Tony Gonsolin got the start on just two days’ rest and wasn’t expected to provide much length. He fell short of even those expectations, recording only four outs and giving up a hit and run as the opener.
Dustin May entered the game in the fourth and similarly saw his struggles continue, allowing three runs on four hits over 1.1 innings of work. Capitalizing on the early lead they established, the Rays secured a 6-4 win to even up the World Series.
The Dodgers now turn to Walker Buehler, Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw in Games 3, 4 and 5, respectively. If the Fall Classic reaches a sixth or seventh contest, Alex Wood could emerge as a candidate to start.
“The goal is not to go seven, but this entire postseason he’s pitched really well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Wood. “I really like the way he attacked the zone. He’ll get a couple days off and we’ll kind of reassess for him.”
Of course, a Game 7 would be started by Buehler on regular rest.
After being left off the Dodgers’ Wild Card Series and Division Series rosters, Wood earned a spot on the squad in the NLCS. In two appearances against his former Braves team, he allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings pitched.
Wood’s most recent appearance came in Game 1 of the World Series, when he tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts against the Rays.
Because of the lack of off days in the Wild Card Series, NL Division Series and NLCS, pitchers have been asked to take on different roles this postseason. It’s most affected how the Dodgers have utilized Gonsolin and May
“It’s a big ask, to be quite frank,” Roberts acknowledged of their swing roles.
“Right now with the off days, every team is going to go down a starter. So people have to adjust to certain roles. And when you’re talking about playing seven days in a row and how you can get as many outs as you can in the CS, yeah, these guys are in uncharted territory.
“A credit to them, they’re not making any excuses. They expect themselves to make pitches. Like I said, it’s different, certainly, but we still need those guys to get important outs for us to win this thing.”
Gonsolin considers postseason role ‘learning experience
Gonsolin has made three appearances this postseason — two of which were starts as an opener. He spoke on the difficulties of handling both roles.
“I want the ball. I want to go out there and give our team a chance to win every time I pitch. It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been a learning experience for me with starting and throwing within three days,” Gonsolin said.
“I’m just trying to take it as a learning experience and grow from it.”
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