Clayton Kershaw is on his way to establishing himself as a true warrior in the 2016 MLB playoffs.
Though he did not officially announce the move, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Kershaw would start Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday.
Dave Roberts said, without officially saying it, that Clayton Kershaw will start Game 2.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 14, 2016
The Dodgers have already announced that Kenta Maeda will start Game 1 of the series against Jon Lester and the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. Kyle Hendricks will get the nod for the Cubs in Game 2, while Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are the Cubs’ scheduled Game 3 and 4 starters.
Matters concerning the Dodgers’ rotation are not as clear.
The team used Maeda on Monday in Game 3 of the NLDS, Kershaw on Tuesday in Game 4, and then they used starters Rich Hill and Julio Urias in Game 5 on Thursday. On top of that, Kershaw closed out Game 5 in the 9th inning despite only having one day of rest.
If Kershaw does make the Game 2 start on Sunday, that would mean he will have pitched Game 4 on three days’ rest; appeared in Game 5 on one day of rest; and started Game 2 of the NLCS on two days’ rest.
Like we said, Kershaw, who has been demanding the ball, is trying to become a complete postseason warrior.
