Dodgers add David Price to NLCS roster for Joe Kelly

The Dodgers volition substitute David Price for Joe Kelly connected their 26-man roster earlier Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed the pitcher swap, which requires support from Major League Baseball, connected a Zoom with reporters Friday.

Kelly started Game 5 astatine Dodger Stadium and allowed a two-run location tally to Atlanta Braves slugger Freddie Freeman, the lone runs the Dodgers allowed successful an 11-2 win. He was past removed due to the fact that of tightness successful his close bicep aft facing conscionable 4 batters.

Players who are replaced successful the mediate of a postseason circular are ineligible to instrumentality successful the pursuing round. That means Kelly’s play is over, and the Dodgers indispensable effort to stave disconnected elimination successful Atlanta without 1 of their champion alleviation pitchers.

In his archetypal six postseason appearances, Kelly had allowed lone 1 tally portion striking retired 5 batters successful 4 ⅔ innings.

Price, a left-hander, hasn’t pitched since Oct. 2, the Dodgers’ penultimate regular-season game. He went 5-2 with a 4.03 earned-run mean successful a hybrid starting/relieving role. He was included connected the National League Division Series roster, but did not look successful immoderate of the 5 games against the San Francisco Giants.

In 23 vocation playoff appearances with the Rays, Tigers, Blue Jays and Red Sox, Price is 5-9 with a 4.62 ERA. He went 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA successful the 2018 World Series against the Dodgers.

Kelly, 33, mightiness person pitched his last crippled arsenic a Dodger. The squad tin workout a $12 cardinal enactment oregon wage Kelly a $4 cardinal buyout, making him a escaped agent.

BRUIHL AILING

The Dodgers mightiness marque different roster substitution earlier the NLCS is over.

Left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl developed a sore limb portion warming up successful the bullpen during Game 5 and did not look successful the game. Roberts said the Dodgers are bringing an other alleviation pitcher to Atlanta successful lawsuit Bruihl besides needs to beryllium replaced.

The soreness “was thing akin to what (Bruihl) had successful September and conscionable couldn’t post,” Roberts said. “He wanted to beryllium retired there, but his limb wouldn’t fto him.”

Bruihl, 24, has been a utile limb against left-handed hitters successful the NLCS. He has retired each six batters he’s faced retired of the bullpen – each lefties oregon switch-hitters – including 5 via strikeout. Two of Atlanta’s hottest hitters successful the series, Freddie Freeman and Eddie Rosario, bat left-handed.

Roberts did not specify which pitchers are nether information for Bruihl’s roster spot.

BAT-LANTA?

The Dodgers’ 11-run, 17-hit outburst successful Game 5 came conscionable successful clip to prevention their season. They had scored 14 runs connected 28 hits successful the archetypal 4 games of the NLCS combined earlier exploding against Braves pitcher Max Fried connected Thursday.

The crippled marked the archetypal clip the Dodgers had seen the aforesaid starting pitcher doubly successful the series. Roberts believes that was instrumental successful their success.

“With Fried, determination was a small much familiarity,” helium said. “It was a week anterior we saw him and helium pitched against us. AJ (Pollock) acceptable the code early, hitting the fastball for a homer. CT (Chris Taylor) did the aforesaid thing. Fried’s crippled program changed a small bit. … We got him disconnected his number-1, which I thought was a precise bully thing.”

Ian Anderson volition beryllium facing the Dodgers for the 2nd clip successful the bid Saturday successful Atlanta. Besides the familiarity they gained with Anderson successful Game 2, Roberts is optimistic the assurance the Dodgers gained successful Game 5 tin transportation implicit to Atlanta.

“With what Chris Taylor and AJ Pollock did, arsenic acold arsenic the at-bat quality, the slug, feeling bully astir your plaything , I deliberation that carries over,” Roberts said. “With what Trea Turner did, evidently with Mookie (Betts) and guys passim our lineup, the at-bats Albert had, I expect that to transportation over.”