What makes Walker Buehler a great postseason pitcher?
Pedro Moura, Dodgers beat writer: Buehler is a great postseason pitcher because he has trained all his life for this, continually raising the real and imagined stakes for himself. And he believes he is the best. Many of his teammates describe him as the most confident man they have ever met, and cocky, too. Not all of it is mental; Buehler also has some of the best stuff in the sport, with elite velocity and a host of secondary pitches he can choose from.
How have the Dodgers contained Randy Arozarena?
Eno Sarris, senior baseball writer: There are very few hitters in baseball that can turn on the pitch up and in. That’s almost a universal hole. We thought maybe Arozarena had no holes, but it turns out he shares that one with most of baseball. And that low-in-the-zone breaking ball that he can hit? The Dodgers have made sure that their breaking balls to him are down, off the plate, and he’s been expanding and missing. So that’s the current book on The Randy Arozarena Experience: If it’s up, make sure it’s in; If it’s down, make sure it’s off the plate. Arozarena will have to be less aggressive to break this book.
Who has the advantage in Game 4: Julio Urías or the Rays’ offense?
Moura: The Rays were much better against left-handed pitchers than right during the regular season, giving them the advantage against Urías in Saturday’s Game 4. But it’s no sizable edge. Urías has been good all year, and great in the playoffs.
Really, his lone trouble spot is the first inning of his starts. During the season, he allowed 10 earned runs in 10 first innings, and 10 earned runs across the other 45 innings he threw. If he can traverse the first without surrendering runs, Tampa Bay might be in trouble.
(Photo: Cooper Neill / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
