Alex Wood vs. Max Scherzer
The National League Division Series is on the move tonight as the San Francisco Giants take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 3 tonight at Dodger Stadium.
The series is tied, after an impressive start on Friday was followed by a disastrous collapse on Saturday. The Giants will be hoping to get things back on track tonight to take the lead in the series once again.
Those hopes sit on the shoulders of Alex Wood. This will be Wood’s 21st playoff appearance. He has primarily only pitched in relief, with his last appearance being in the 2020 World Series with the Dodgers. Wood finished the regular season with a 3.83 ERA, 3.48 FIP, with 152 strikeouts to 39 walks in 138 innings pitched.
His last several starts with the Giants have been strong outings, if shortened due to health concerns after having been out with COVID-19 in September. His last start was against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a game in which he allowed only three hits, zero runs or walks and struck out six in six innings of work.
He’ll be facing Max Scherzer, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline. Scherzer finished the season with a 2.46 ERA, 2.97 FIP, with 236 strikeouts to 36 walks in 179 innings pitched.
Scherzer, like Wood, is no stranger to pitching in October, of course. Nor is he a stranger to pitching against the Giants in October. He last did so with the Detroit Tigers in 2012’s World Series Game 4, in which he gave up a home run to Buster Posey. Another of those would be nice tonight.
Of course he also helped the Nationals win their first World Series in franchise history in 2019, starting the memorable Game 7 in which they came back to win it late in the game.
Scherzer’s last appearance was his start in the National League Wild Card game last Wednesday, in which he allowed three hits, one run, three walks while striking out four in 4.1 innings. He was pulled in the fifth after allowing a single and a walk and left the game with no decision.
Lineups
Giants
- Tommy La Stella, 2B
- Mike Yastrzemski, RF
- Buster Posey, C
- Brandon Crawford, SS
- Kris Bryant, 1B
- LaMonte Wade, Jr., LF
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Steven Duggar, CF
- Alex Wood, LHP
Dodgers
- Mookie Betts, RF
- Trea Turner, 2B
- Corey Seager, SS
- Justin Turner, 3B
- Chris Taylor, CF
- AJ Pollock, LF
- Albert Pujols, 1B
- Will Smith, C
- Max Scherzer, RHP
NLDS Game 3
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
When: 6:37 p.m. PT
Series details: Tied 1-1, best of five
TV: TBS
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM, ESPN Radio