For the first time since Jeff Weaver started Game 1 of the 2009 NLDS, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened a postseason series Thursday night and willingly gave the ball to someone other than Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw started Game 1 in eight of the team's 10 previous postseason series, and the two times he didn't (2016 NLCS and 2013 NLCS), it was because he pitched in the clinching game of the previous round and was not yet available to start.
Rather than Kershaw, the Dodgers gave the ball to Hyun-Jin Ryu in NLDS Game 1 against the Braves on Thursday. Kershaw will instead start Game 2. Manager Dave Roberts explained the decision to start Ryu in Game 1 against Atlanta came down to maximizing rest.
"I think if you look at each game individually and put as the same importance, which we do, how can you put both of those players in the best position to succeed?" said Roberts. "And we felt that with Clayton getting an extra day and Hyun-Jin getting one extra day as well, as opposed to two, would do that. And so if you look at it that way, Game 1, 2 and 3 are guaranteed. And so to look anything beyond that, I don't think that we wanted to do that. And so that's what kind of made our decision."
The decision could not have worked out better, at least for one day. Ryu started against the Braves on Thursday night and was masterful, tossing seven shutout innings. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy hit early home runs to give him some breathing room, and Ryu went out and peppered the strike zone the rest of the way. The Dodgers went on to win the game 6-0 (box score).
Ryu threw 104 pitches Thursday after throwing no more than 93 pitches in any start during the regular season. You have to go back to August 12, 2017, for the last time he threw 100 pitches in a start. Keep in mind Ryu had major shoulder surgery a few years ago, which limited him to 4 2/3 innings total from 2015-16. The Dodgers tend to handle him carefully. On Thursday, Roberts let him pitch deeper into the game than usual.
"I think the way that Ryu is throwing the ball -- I think the way all our starters are throwing the baseball -- obviously we have a lot of confidence in those guys," Roberts said. "So I guess in a vacuum you could probably say -- it's probably a safe bet that yeah, we might lean on our starters a little bit more than we did last year and, conversely, the relievers a little bit less."
The Game 1 performance was not out of the ordinary for Ryu. He finished the regular season with a 1.97 ERA in 15 starts and 82 1/3 innings around a groin injury, and, most impressively, he had a 1.15 ERA in nine starts and 54 2/3 innings at Dodger Stadium. Including Game 1, Ryu now has a 1.02 ERA with 68 strikeouts and six walks in 61 2/3 innings at home in 2018. That's as good as it gets.
Ryu's start not only helped the Dodgers take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three NLDS, it also set them up wonderfully for the rest of the series. Kershaw is lined up for Game 2 and hotshot rookie Walker Buehler will start Game 3. If there's a Game 4, it'll go to Rich Hill. And, if there's a Game 5, the Dodgers could either go to Ryu (on extra rest) or Kershaw (on normal rest). I assume it would be Kershaw, especially after Ryu was pushed to 104 pitches Thursday.
Between the shoulder surgeries and this year's groin injury, Ryu's dealt with an awful lot of adversity in recent years, but he's healthy now, and Thursday night he turned in a dominant start to open the NLDS. He's been exceptional at Dodger Stadium all season. It was the kind of outing the Dodgers would've hoped to get from Kershaw. They got it from Ryu, and now they can send Kershaw to the mound Friday looking for a 2-0 series lead.
"So many teammates have told me that this guy has ice in his veins, and he's a big-game pitcher," said Roberts of Ryu. "And the more I've gotten to see him execute pitches in big spots, it's kind of come to fruition."
