Prior to Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers had not announced their starting pitchers for the NLCS beyond Game 3. But that changed later in the day.
Julio Urias will start Game 4 of the NLCS for the Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs, as expected, while Kenta Maeda is tentatively expected to start Game 5.
Urias is the Dodgers’ 20-year-old rookie from Mexico who made his MLB debut in May at the age of 19. After some shaky outings to start his career, Urias settled in for the second half of the season and saw his ERA drop from nearly five in July to 3.39 by the end of the regular season.
Urias has made one appearance in the postseason so far. He threw two scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ Game 5 win over the Nationals in the NLDS. Urias has not pitched more than six innings in any start this season, so expect the Dodgers’ bullpen to see plenty of action on Wednesday.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said Monday that Maeda will start Game 5 “as of now.”
Dave Roberts said "as it stands now" Kenta Maeda will start Game 5, not Clayton Kershaw. We shall see.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 17, 2016
Maeda has struggled so far in the postseason, having allowed seven runs in seven innings over two appearances. It’s no surprise that Roberts is leaving the door open for a change in starters with Game 5.
