The National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants shifts to Dodger Stadium Monday evening, tied at one game apiece.
Right-hander Max Scherzer will start for the Dodgers. The Dodgers are 11-0 in his regular-season starts after they acquired him in a July 30 six-player trade with the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers also won Wednesday’s NL wild-card game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“We made this acquisition for him to be an ace, a stopper,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “When he takes the baseball you expect to win.”
Scherzer’s lone 2021 appearance against San Francisco came when he pitched for Washington and he left the June 11 game after 12 pitches because of a groin injury.
Alex Wood will start for the Giants. The left-hander pitched for the Dodgers from 2015-18 and again in 2020, including four post-season relief appearances in 2020 when he had a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.
“I don’t think we get through Game 6 without Alex Wood and his valuable innings,” Roberts said, referring to the two perfect innings Wood pitched in the Dodgers’ World Series-clinching 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Wood was 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA in the regular season. He was 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers.
Roberts on Sunday revealed one change in the lineup to give the Dodgers an additional right-handed hitter as they face a left-handed starter for the first time in the best-of-five series.
Albert Pujols will start at first base after not playing in either of the first two games of the series.
The game will be the Dodgers’ first playoff game at Dodger Stadium since a health order from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health went into effect requiring all people 12 and over at events with at least 10,000 people to present either proof of full vaccination for the coronavirus or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event date.
Fans are encouraged to visit Dodgers.com/FanSafety for more information.
Parking and stadium gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first pitch set for 6:37 p.m.
The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Andre Ethier, a Dodger outfielder from 2006-17. The national anthem will be sung by Davis Gaines.
