Hang out and watch the game with us! Emma Baccellieri and Matt Martell will be providing updates, analysis and banter in their Game 5 live blog.
We're less than 30 minutes away from the epic conclusion of the Giants-Dodgers National League Division Series.
These two teams have never met before in the postseason, and the matchup has lived up to the hype. It comes down to a final, winner-take-all game at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
Emma Baccellieri and I will be hanging out and having a conversation throughout the night as we watch the game. We'll be providing updates and analysis, as well as some light-hearted banter. Let's get started.
All times listed are EST
Matt Martell (8:55): Howdy, partner.
Emma Baccellieri (8:55): Hello!
MM (8:56): Ready to get this thing going?
EB: (8:56): Sure am. What are your thoughts on the Dodgers' decision to open the game with Corey Knebel instead of Julio Urías?
MM (8:57): Well, first off, I love the gamesmanship. I like that we finally got a weird wrinkle between two teams that are facing each other for the 24th time this year.
That said, I don’t know how much of an impact it makes. Sure, it keeps the Giants from stacking all their right-handed-hitting platoon players at the top of the order, but they seemed to have adjusted fine with the lineup they put together. They still have Darin Ruf in the two-hole, anticipating that Urías will still be in the game for at least one, probably two, of his plate appearances. And they have lefty-hitting Tommy La Stella leading off, Brandon Crawford in the cleanup spot and Mike Yastrzemski hitting sixth. That’s fairly well-balanced. It does mean we don’t see LaMonte Wade Jr. until later in the game. The Giants smartly threw Wilmer Flores in the No. 8 spot so he’d be there for when Urías enters the game.
EB (9:00): So I don’t dislike this move. But I’m not totally crazy about it, either. It would be an easier call for me if a) the bulk guy in question was on short rest, or b) either of the pitchers involved had extreme platoon splits. Yet neither of those apply here: Urías is fully rested, with fairly minimal splits this season, while Knebel actually has reverse splits. I do think there’s an advantage to be gained here—but I think it’s far, far smaller than most cases where we think about an opener being useful.
MM (9:05): What’s your prediction for tonight?
EB (9:06): I think Giants (but not by much!).
I also think we see Max Scherzer in relief at some point.
MM (9:06): Is he the losing pitcher tonight?
EB (9:08): Oooh good question. I’m going to go with no but I think it’s possible!
MM (9:09): I think the Giants win as well. I’m going with a 3–2 final. Logan Webb goes seven and allows one run. Buster Posey and Kris Bryant both hit home runs. Albert Pujols hits a late pinch-hit home run (because I’m romantic about baseball), but it won’t be enough.
MM (9:14): Two hard-hit balls to start the game for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts reaches on the single and then Corey Seager ropes a 105.9-mph lineout to left. Logan Webb makes a big pitch to get Trea Turner to bounce into a double play. Let’s see if that’s enough to calm the 24-year-old Webb down a bit.
EB (9:16): And now we get to see how well Knebel works as the opener!
MM (9:19): It’s not looking good for Knebel!
EB (9:19): Oooooh, man, the bounce on that double from Buster Posey — Mookie’s usually great about reading those!
Yeah, that’s two hard-hit balls in a row, even though Ruf’s was caught.
MM (9:20): They’re swinging early - Ruf and Posey both crush fastballs to right field. Ruff’s fly ball died in the right-CF triangle.
EB (9:20): Interesting—the Dodgers have Brusdar Graterol warming, rather than going straight to Urías.
I’d imagine that would still be aiming to bring Urías in by the third or so, of course, but curious to think about padding out with other relievers before turning to him.
EB (9:25): A huuuuge strikeout there to end the inning. But I think they should feel lucky to have gotten out of there without damage.
MM (9:26): Nasty hook. Not sure how much longer we’ll see Knebel. If the Dodgers don’t want to have Urías come in just yet to face the righties at the bottom of the Giants’ lineup, they should probably turn to Graterol.
MM (9:31): Brandon Crawford makes it look so easy.
EB (9:31): Yeah, that was soooo smooth.
MM (9:32): Yes! He was playing deep and toward the 6-hole there against Justin Turner, who hit a slower grounder that Crawford had to charge. He broke down his feet to perfection, made that alligator scoop that all good youth coaches teach and released quickly across the diamond. Beautiful.
EB (9:36): And we have Graterol in for the second—probably the smartest move, as you said, to create a cushion so that Urías doesn’t have to face the righties at the bottom of the lineup.
My biggest takeaway from watching him is just how easy he makes 100 mph look. It’s ridiculous.
MM (9:36): I love that Kris Bryant has started two of these five games in center field. He’s also raking so far this series, hitting .462 with a homer entering today’s game.
MM (9:38): That’s terrifying.
Bryant breaks his bat, with most of it helicoptering over third baseman Justin Turner’s head. He beats the throw to first for an infield single.
MM (9:43): Wilmer Flores flips a single to left field, setting up runners on first and second with one out. It’s Longo Time.
MM (9:45): Never said Longo Time was a good thing for the Giants. He pops out to first.
EB (9:46): Hahaha. Well, now we’re down t
o Logan Webb Time… which, probably bears noting, he is a decent hitter for a pitcher! But, uh, low bar.
EB (9:48): “Low bar” epitomized here by his striking out on three consecutive pitches. And that’s probably the last we see of Graterol.
EB (9:51): Cody Bellinger has been generally lost at the plate for a while now, but man, Logan Webb made him look downright silly on that K.
MM (9:51): Yeah, that two-seamer that ran back over the inside part of the plate was pretty.
MM (9:56): Logan Webb is dealing right now. He’s faced the minimum through three innings. That two-seamer/slider combo is working brilliantly.
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