Sources confirmed to ESPN that Max Scherzer, the right-hander for the Los Angeles Dodgers, will not be making his scheduled start in Game 6 (National League Championship Series), sources said. This news was first reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Although Scherzer's replacement at Truist Park Saturday night is unknown, there are no obvious options. Anderson and the Atlanta Braves will be facing Scherzer.
Walker Buehler would need to take the ball. This is his second start on short rest in his career after he did it in Game 4 against the San Francisco Giants in the NL Division Series. Any other than Buehler's would effectively turn into a bullpen match, which was made harder by the fact that the Dodgers staged a bullpen match in Game 5.
Although Scherzer's reason for his absence is unknown, the 37-year old right-hander reported feeling tired after Game 2, which occurred on Sunday. This was three days after he was required to start in the ninth inning in the previous round.
After that start, Scherzer, who was a free agent, stated, "I would just claim my arm was dead." "I could tell that my arm was tired when I was warming up."
In this series, the Dodgers have already lost Justin Turner (hamstring), and Joe Kelly (bicep), third baseman. The Dodgers are also without Max Muncy (elbow), and Clayton Kershaw (forearm), who both suffered injuries in the final weekend of regular season.
The Dodgers entered postseason with a three man starting rotation. It consisted of only Scherzer and Buehler, as well as Julio Urias. Julio Urias struggled in Game 4 on Wednesday, his third appearance in six days.
The Dodgers announced Friday that they had added David Price, a former Cy Young Award winner, to their NLCS roster. Price has not played in a game since Oct. 2, and hasn’t pitched more than two innings since August 31. Tony Gonsolin has also been added to the Dodgers' lineup. He has allowed five runs over four innings in three games in this series.
