Dodgers must avoid getting tangled in Giants’ Webb to win NLDS Game 5

SAN FRANCISCO — Something has to give. Finally.

The Dodgers and San Francisco Giants person measured themselves against each different each year. They person each won 109 games present (thanks to the Dodgers’ wild-card win). They person gone head-to-head 23 times with conscionable 5 runs separating the 2 teams (in the Dodgers’ favor) implicit those passionate engagements.

A 24th gathering – a 110th triumph for 1 squad – volition beryllium needed to abstracted baseball’s 2 champion teams. The victor of Game 5 of the National League Division Series connected Thursday nighttime volition beforehand to the best-of-seven NL Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. The loser volition beryllium near to wonderment however 109 wins tin consciousness similar a failure.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t travel to this. I was hoping we would triumph successful 3 straight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked Wednesday afternoon. “But I deliberation if you’re talking astir shot – it’s the archetypal clip that this has happened, america playing successful a postseason series, the mode that the regular play played retired … it was inevitable, yeah.”

If a last clash betwixt the Dodgers and Giants was inescapable neither is the situation if the Dodgers are going to beforehand to a 2nd consecutive NLCS clash with the Braves. They person to lick the riddle of Logan Webb.

The 24-year-old right-hander had his mode with the Dodgers successful Game 1, holding them to 5 hits portion striking retired 10 successful 7-2/3 scoreless innings successful his archetypal postseason start. The Giants person won 19 of his past 21 starts (including Game 1) and 11 of his past 12, during which Webb has a 2.57 ERA.

“He’s got 3 pitches that are elite truthful it’s decidedly a luxury connected my extremity to prime and choose,” Giants catcher Buster Posey said of Webb’s transportation premix – a debased 90s sinker, a debased 80s slider and a changeup. “He’s got the quality to get guys retired a batch of antithetic ways, and it’s a look for success, that’s for sure.”

Webb relied heavy connected his off-speed pitches successful Game 1, including a slider connected which batters deed conscionable .156 this season. Of his 92 pitches successful the bid opener, Webb fed the Dodgers conscionable 25 fastballs, 20 of those sinkers. He threw his slider 29 times and his changeup 38 (the astir of immoderate commencement successful his career).

Afterward, Roberts criticized his hitters arsenic powerfully arsenic helium ever will, saying they failed to marque “adjustments,” chasing acold excessively galore of Webb’s pitches retired of the onslaught portion – precise uncharacteristic of the Dodgers’ lineup. No squad swung astatine a little percent of pitches extracurricular of the onslaught portion than the Dodgers this play (27.8).

Using a play analogy, Roberts said they stuck with 1 nine – “the driver” – each game. That has to alteration successful Game 5, helium said Wednesday.

“I deliberation that you look astatine what Webb’s done to america and evidently he’s thrown the shot truly good against us,” Roberts said of Webb, who allowed conscionable 5 earned runs connected 7 hits successful 16 innings implicit 3 regular-season starts against the Dodgers. “He’s got truly bully stuff. The shot has a batch of enactment and erstwhile he’s right, helium has truly bully command, and adjacent erstwhile he’s not, the shot benignant of moves a lot. So I deliberation it’s conscionable the thought of staying short, usage the large portion of the field, due to the fact that … helium doesn’t springiness up a full batch of slug. So to benignant of play for the slug is conscionable a atrocious approach.

“For us, erstwhile it’s going good we are taking our walks. We’re getting into counts. We’re fundamentally making the pitcher get himself into trouble. We’re not overly assertive but assertive successful the onslaught zone. So that’s benignant of the yin and yang. You privation your hitters to beryllium assertive but to their zones and, erstwhile we commencement expanding – and Logan is an east-west feline truthful he’s trying to get america to grow east-west. If we tin enactment locked successful connected our portion that’s erstwhile we’re astatine our best.”

If the Dodgers bash marque adjustments successful their attack against Webb this clip around, Giants manager Gabe Kapler thinks Webb has the assortment successful his transportation premix to counter.

“When pitchers person 2 large secondary weapons, they person a bully sinking fastball they tin elevate astatine times, and they spot immoderate adjustments being made either in-game oregon successful a consequent game, they tin ever spell to those different secondary weapons, if those are moving better,” Kapler said. “They tin besides transportation much successful the portion if necessary. If you’re seeing a passive approach, they tin effort to prime the edges of the portion oregon spell retired of the portion for immoderate plaything and miss.

“So it’s existent for Logan, but it’s existent for each pitchers. They’re going to beryllium capable to set their transportation usage. They’re going to beryllium capable to set however often they’re successful the zone, however rapidly they’re pitching to interaction (in the count), things similar that.”

One happening Webb volition not alteration is his pre-game regular – and the unhealthy magnitude of Red Bull included successful it. He said helium drinks 3 of the heavy caffeinated vigor drinks earlier each commencement – “right earlier oregon close erstwhile I get to the field, close earlier I commencement my agelong with the trainer and past astatine the extremity of my warmup.”

“I’ve ever loved Red Bull,” helium admitted during Wednesday’s property conference. “I honestly started drinking it erstwhile I was successful question ball, erstwhile I was truly young.

“Don’t beryllium huffy astatine my dada oregon ma oregon thing astir that.”