Dodgers-Nationals NLDS Game 2 moved to Sunday: How to watch live, stream, preview
Will this series head to L.A. 1-1 or with a 2-0 Dodgers lead?
By
Matt Snyder
•
2 min read
After a Game 1 nail-biter that the Dodgers won, and an unexpected postponement until Sunday due to inclement weather on Saturday, we're now set for Game 2 of the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals in our nation's capital.
The bare-bone details:
Time: Sunday, 1:08 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1
Live streaming: Either Fox Sports Go or MLB.tv (full details are in those links)
We'll see another bout between pitchers that looks like a duel, though in Game 1 it ended up being more about the bullpens. It was a nice little reminder -- as if we needed one -- that baseball isn't played on paper. Still, that's all we have here until Game 2 starts, so let's move onward.
Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83) vs. Dodgers
Roark is coming off an exceptional season that will earn him down-ballot Cy Young consideration. He thrives more on command than stuff, which isn't to say that stuff is bad. Not at all. It's just that he rarely misses spots -- and don't confuse command for control (aka walks), because command guys will walk hitters rather than give in.
And Roark will issue walks. He did so 73 times in 210 innings this year. A patient team can extend his pitch count. On that front, the Dodgers are slightly below average in pitches per plate appearance, so nothing is really sticking out there.
The home/road splits don't really reveal much, either, with Roark being better at home by a little bit (2.72 ERA vs. 2.96).
Roark got one start against the Dodgers this season, back on June 21. He went 7 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He was in the lead heading into the eighth, 2-0, but coughed up a three-run homer to Yasmani Grandal.
As far as head to head matchups, it's all really small samples. Chase Utley is 1 for 13 (.077), but otherwise no regular has seen Roark more than seven times.
Roark has a 3.38 ERA in 2 2/3 innings in his postseason career. This will be his first-ever start in the playoffs.
Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12) vs. Nationals
Hill is an unbelievable story. He hadn't made a start in the majors since 2009 before getting four starts last September with the Red Sox at age 35. Combining those four starts with his 20 this season, Hill is 14-6 with a 2.00 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 165 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings since returning to the role. Needless to say, that's ace-caliber.
The out pitch is his curveball which is ridiculous and one of the best in the majors. Take a look.
Due to all the bouncing around, his splits shouldn't be too meaningful, but he was far better on the road than at home this season. He didn't see the Nationals and, in fact, the entire lineup is unfamiliar with him. Ryan Zimmerman has seen him 10 times, but those were years ago. Otherwise none of the starters have faced Hill more than three times in their career.
So it's a big battle of the unknown here. Generally speaking, that benefits the pitcher but this is far from a hard-and-fast rule.
One major item of note is Hill has had trouble with blisters throughout the season to the point that he was even pulled from a perfect game due to the skin becoming "hot" on his fingers.
Hill has one career postseason start and he was bad, but it was back in 2007.
