The Los Angeles Dodgers made a slight alteration for their National League Championship Series roster, adding right-hander Ben Casparius to the bullpen.
To open a spot, the Dodgers left off rookie catcher Dalton Rushing. Los Angeles carried three catchers through the first two rounds of the playoffs but have pared that down now that veteran Will Smith has fully recovered from a right hand injury.
The Brewers also made a tweak to their pitching staff for the next round, adding right-hander Tobias Myers to replace right-hander Nick Mears. Milwaukee continues to carry 12 pitchers as it did in the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Los Angeles will face the Brewers in Game 1 of the NLCS starting Monday at Milwaukee.
The addition of Casparius gives the Dodgers 12 pitchers, not counting Shohei Ohtani, who serves as the team’s regular designated hitter while also pitching out of the rotation. Casparius, who went 7-5 with a 4.64 ERA and two saves in 46 appearances (three starts) this season, was not on the roster for the wild-card round or the NLDS.
Ohtani was expected to start Game 5 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, but that contest was not needed after the Dodgers advanced in four games.
Ohtani was not named to start either of the first two games of the NLCS, with the Dodgers selecting left-hander Blake Snell for Game 1 and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 2. Ohtani’s next start is expected to come when the series shifts to Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles pitching staff does include left-hander Clayton Kershaw, despite the fact that he is not expected to start in the series and struggled in a relief appearance in Game 3 of the NLDS. Kershaw, who is set to retire at the end of the season, allowed five runs (four earned) in two innings of the Dodgers’ only loss in the series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Brewers removed Mears from their roster for the current round despite his three scoreless appearances (1 2/3 innings) in the NLDS. He faced seven batters and had three strikeouts. He went 5-3 with a 3.49 ERA and one save in 63 relief appearances during the regular season.
Myers went 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 appearances (six starts) in the regular season.
The Brewers’ roster also include left-hander Robert Gasser, who had just seven career major league appearances (two this season), before the playoffs began. Gasser gave up two runs on five hits over two innings in the 6-0 loss in Game 4 of the NLDS.
Gasser gives the Brewers four left-handers on the staff to deal with Dodgers left-handed hitters like Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy. Myers allowed a .369 slugging percentage to left-handed hitters in 96 plate appearances in the regular season, while Mears was at .417 (95 PA).
–Field Level Media
