LOS ANGELES — When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got on the podium for his press conference on Thursday, all the attention was on whether he was going to announce a pitching plan for Friday’s National League Division Series Game 5.
The Dodgers elected to not share one, instead saying they’re still working through deciding on a bullpen game or going with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whom they handed the biggest deal ever for a pitcher despite never throwing a pitch in Major League Baseball.
But the reality is, regardless of what the Dodgers do with their pitching, they’re going to need their offense to get going against Padres right-hander Yu Darvish.
“I think for us, it’s just being ready to hit,” said Roberts. “He doesn’t give in, but when he throws his slider, curveball in the strike zone or makes a mistake with the fastball, we’ve got to be ready to hit it. I do feel if we can put pressure on him early, that puts us in a good position.”
In Game 2 of the NLDS, Darvish had his way against the Dodgers’ offense. Outside of Mookie Betts almost hitting a homer in the first and a rally that fell short in the second inning, the Dodgers didn’t do much against the Japanese right-hander.
Over seven dominant innings, Darvish threw seven different types of pitches. Having that wide of an arsenal, of course, helps any hurler have success keeping any offense stay off-balance.
On Friday, the best way L.A. can get back on track is to get to Darvish early. The good news for the Dodgers is they have Shohei Ohtani leading off, and he’s more than capable of doing just that.
Ohtani, however, has struggled against his childhood hero in a small sample. The Dodgers’ two-way superstar is just 1-for-8 off Darvish in his career, including going 0-for-3 in Game 2.
“Obviously, he’s a really good pitcher and pitched well against us,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I think he’s also very crafty as well, so there isn’t exactly one specific thing that really stands out.”
While the Dodgers will look to Ohtani to lead, the rest of the order will also have to improve against Darvish. Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy each have 40 or more career at-bats against Darvish. Betts is 8-for-43 with four doubles and a homer. Freeman is 10-for-40 with three homers and Muncy is 10-for-41 two homers.
In a win-or-go-home situation, the Padres will be quick going to their vaunted bullpen if Darvish runs into some trouble. But for the Dodgers, the key to a win is pretty simple: Find a way to get to Darvish early. Something they haven’t been able to do in the postseason.
“My style is to go on the mound and look at how the hitters are reacting and then go about what I’m going to do. I’ve always been like that,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “I don’t necessarily have a concrete plan right now. But tomorrow, that’s kind of what I’m looking to do.”
