Whicker: Dodgers’ margin of error disappears, but they’ve handled that before

LOS ANGELES — This would person been Clayton Kershaw’s game. Or Dustin May’s. Or, if not for a bid of unfortunate events, Trevor Bauer’s.

Instead, the Dodgers volition effort to widen this play with a pitching program that Manager Dave Roberts did not divulge Monday night, either due to the fact that helium didn’t cognize what this 1-0, Game 3 nonaccomplishment did to the archetypal plan, oregon due to the fact that helium didn’t privation to archer the San Francisco Giants that they would spot Walker Buehler 2 nights earlier they were expected to.

They astir apt won’t beryllium surprised. They ne'er are.

Buehler pitched successful San Francisco connected Friday night. He has not performed connected 3 days’ remainder successful his career, and this play helium carried 207-2/3 innings into the playoffs.

But past the Giants got the last six outs from rookie Camilo Doval, and helium hadn’t done that earlier either.

Precedent isn’t peculiarly meaningful erstwhile the Dodgers, the lone National League squad to mean 5 runs successful 2021, person been blanked doubly successful the archetypal 3 games of this series.

Roberts admitted to “frustration” arsenic the Giants kept playing Whack-A-Mole with astir each hard-hit ball. The signature play came from shortstop Brandon Crawford, who skied to snag Mookie Betts’ enactment thrust with 2 connected and 2 outs successful the seventh inning.

But Donovan Solano, who came successful to play 2nd basal erstwhile Tommy La Stella’s Achilles tightened up, besides ranged to his near to discontinue AJ Pollock for the archetypal retired successful the seventh.

And the winds, seemingly imported from Candlestick Point successful San Francisco wherever an infuriating aged ballpark erstwhile stood, made it emblematic for a location run-dependent squad to deed location runs.

The last hitter, Gavin Lux, watched his squared-up changeable deed the partition of upwind and get tracked down by Steven Duggar. Roberts thought it was gone, and Giants 3rd baseman Evan Longoria admitted his “heart sank” erstwhile helium saw the trajectory.

“Those winds were ace unusual for L.A.,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler, a postgraduate of Taft High successful Woodland Hills.

Only Longoria brought a large capable hammer to pierce the gusts and scope the seats, arsenic helium did connected a straight, 0-and-2 fastball from Max Scherzer successful the fifth.

Most of the time the Dodgers acted arsenic if Tony Gonsolin, a spot starter for astir of the season, would beryllium the person of the pitching parade successful Game 4. That, of course, was earlier they mislaid Game 3. They lone utilized Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen for 1 inning apiece, and determination is an off-day betwixt Tuesday and a imaginable Game 5 successful San Francisco.

But you’d alternatively person Buehler, who was 2nd successful the National League successful innings, 3rd successful ERA, seventh successful strikeouts and 4th successful WHIP.

“I deliberation he’s going to propulsion the shot beauteous well,” Dodgers archetypal baseman Albert Pujols said, adjacent though nary 1 had announced Buehler would beryllium going. “I cognize he’s coming successful connected abbreviated rest, but I deliberation he’s going to beryllium beauteous excited.”

In 2014, Vanderbilt needed Buehler to imitate a alleviation pitcher successful a College World Series crippled against UC Irvine. Buehler struck retired 7 successful 5-1/3 no-hit innings. It is not ideal, but it’s hard to judge Roberts would spell into specified an exigency concern and permission Buehler behind.

The Giants person Anthony DeSclafani, a well-rested starter, locked successful for Game 4. He went 13-7 successful 2021 with a 3.17 ERA, but helium was 0-3 with a 7.33 ERA with six location runs allowed successful six starts against the Dodgers. Much of that ERA is weighted by a 10-run, 2 2/3-inning outing connected May 23, and helium did propulsion six scoreless innings against them the past clip helium faced them.

If that doesn’t enactment they tin thin connected Logan Webb, who snake-charmed the Dodgers successful Game 1, against Julio Urias successful a winner-take-all Game 5 connected Thursday. Urias would beryllium pitching connected his regular schedule.

Is that however it ends for a squad that won 106 regular-season games? Maybe, but past the Dodgers person learned however to woody with the brink.

They needed Chris Taylor’s location tally to get past the St. Louis Cardinals successful the wild-card crippled past week. They trailed Atlanta, 3-1, successful past year’s NL Championship Series and coiled up winning, with Buehler excelling successful his Game 6 start.

Much of this squad remembers 2018 successful Milwaukee, erstwhile Buehler started Game 7 and Kershaw finished it, and the Dodgers won that NLCS.

Roberts seems to deliberation the Line Drive Gods volition intervene for the Dodgers and spot baseballs extracurricular the scope of San Francisco’s antiaircraft octopus. After Alex Wood near the crippled with 2 outs successful the 5th inning, the Dodgers had a changeable astatine 3 Giants relievers, sent up 16 batters who struck retired lone 3 times, and inactive got nothing. They ended the crippled with nary extra-base hits.

The enormity of the nighttime and the evident reluctance to look the aftermath of specified a abrupt decision volition enactment a fearsome crippled look connected each Dodger. That’s yet different crushed to usage a feline similar Buehler. He seldom leaves location without his.