The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that right-hander Walker Buehler will start Saturday night in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Atlanta.
Buehler (0-1, 3.77 ERA) was ushered to start on three days’ rest in place of ace Max Scherzer, who said last Sunday that his “arm was dead.”
Scherzer said that he would be available to pitch in Game 7 of the Dodgers advance with a victory Saturday but did not know how many innings he could contribute. The right-hander was throwing in the outfield before Game 6.
“I just don’t know where my line will be … how deep I can go,” Scherzer said Saturday afternoon.
The 27-year-old Buehler initially was slated to start a potential Game 7 against the Braves, who hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Buehler came back on short rest to pitch Game 4 of the NL Division Series against the San Francisco Giants, and he turned in 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Dodgers posted a 7-2 victory to force a decisive fifth game, which they won.
Los Angeles has been without veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw throughout the postseason due to a forearm injury.
The Dodgers acquired Scherzer from the Washington Nationals in a July 30 trade, and he went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in the regular season for Los Angeles, with the team winning all 11 of his starts. He is 0-1 with a save and a 2.16 ERA in four appearances (three starts) during the 2021 postseason.
He threw 179 1/3 innings during the regular season and has added 16 2/3 innings in the postseason.
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, led the Nationals to the 2019 World Series title. He went 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA in six postseason games (five starts) that year.
–Field Level Media
