Daily Clips October 27, 2017

Transcription

1 Daily Clips October 27, 2017

2 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 DODGERS.COM Colletti praises efforts of Dodgers' front office - Ken Gurnick Relationship with Ward helping Puig blossom - Jesse Sanchez Morning Lineup podcast previews Game 3 - MLB.com Difficult decisions await skippers on WS stage - Richard Justice Dodgers have intriguing DH options for G3 - Matthew Leach Darvish out to give LA 2-1 lead vs. familiar foe - Jenifer Langosch Tied turning: Classic to rock Houston tonight - Anthony Castrovince LA TIMES Dodgers hope to 'turn the page' in Houston after gut-wrenching Game 2 loss - Andy McCullough Houston Astros want the retractable roof at Minute Maid Park closed for Games 3, 4 and 5 - Pedro Moura Yu Darvish hasn't waited his whole life for the World Series, so he's free from the pressure of the moment - Dylan Hernandez Astros embrace change of scenery in World Series, while the Dodgers try to recapture the magic by sticking to the plan - Bill Plaschke OC REGISTER World Series Game 3: Dodgers at Astros, lineups, starting pitchers, TV info - Bill Plunkett Dodgers notes: Yasiel Puig, Corey Seager are finalists for Gold Glove awards - Bill Plunkett Whicker: Astros Alex Bregman gets his brashness honestly - Mark Whicker Dodgers will see plenty of curveballs from Astros Lance McCullers in Game 3 - J.P. Hoornstra Dodgers Dave Roberts has no regrets, but did Astros seize momentum going into Game 3? - Bill Plunkett Dodgers Dave Roberts a pillar as baseball tries to rebuild African Americans interest - Kevin Modesti ESPN Dodgers' Dave Roberts says he wouldn't change Game 2 decisions - Bradford Doolittle How the Dodgers turned Yu Darvish into a better version of himself - Bradford Doolittle How do the Astros, Dodgers move on from the Game 2 insanity? - Jerry Crasnick Your guide to World Series Game 3: Will home-field advantage boost the Astros to a lead? - David Schoenfield Dodgers and Astros players reflect on Puerto Rico - Marly Rivera TRUE BLUE LA Yasiel Puig & Corey Seager are NL Gold Glove Award finalists - Eric Stephen Dodgers lose minor league pitching coach Matt Herges to Giants - Eric Stephen Joc Pederson to start in left field in Game 3 - Eric Stephen Astros and Dodgers depth, versatility on display in this World Series - Eric Stephen World Series notes: Corey Seager vs. Carlos Correa, the Chris Taylor trade, and Yasiel Puig - Eric Stephen DODGER INSIDER Puig, Seager named Gold Glove finalists - Rowan Kavner First pitch times announced for remainder of World Series - Rowan Kavner USA TODAY SPORTS World Series: Why the Astros have the edge over the Dodgers in Game 3 - Jorge L. Ortiz SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Eighteen Days in December: How Kenley Jansen's Wedding Sparked the Dodgers' World Series Run - Michael McKnight WASHINGTON POST This World Series game proved the advanced stats folks can be wrong - Thomas Boswell

3 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 DODGERS.COM Colletti praises efforts of Dodgers' front office By Ken Gurnick HOUSTON -- These must be bittersweet times for Ned Colletti, watching somebody else's Dodgers try to end the franchise World Series drought, right? "No, nothing bittersweet about it," said the Dodgers' former general manager. "I applaud [president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman, [general manager] Farhan Zaidi and [CEO] Stan Kasten. They took this team where I couldn't get it." Colletti said he's enjoying his third season as an analyst with the organization's SportsNet LA broadcast, along with other media gigs, and he just released a memoir of his front-office career: "The Big Chair -- The Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from the Inside World of the Acclaimed Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager." In Colletti's nine-year tenure, his teams reached the postseason five times. More pertinent to the current World Series -- which resumes against the Astros with Game 3 tonight tied at a game apiece -- a significant core of players from the current Dodgers roster were acquired during Colletti's regime. We're talking Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Andre Ethier and Ross Stripling. Other players in the system were used in trades to acquire contributors such as Chris Taylor, Rich Hill, Enrique Hernandez, Austin Barnes, Logan Forsythe, Alex Wood and Yasmani Grandal. But when the Dodgers won the National League Championship Series over the Cubs in Chicago -- and if they beat the Astros -- Colletti won't be lifting the championship hardware. "I'm at peace with it. I want them to win, I want there to be a World [Series] championship parade in Los Angeles," he said. "A lot of people, in and out of the organization, as well as the fans, deserve it. It's an iconic franchise. And everybody in it has been classy and dignified with me." Colletti said when Dave Roberts was hired, the new manager asked Colletti what he thought was the greatest challenge of the job.

4 "I said to change the culture," Colletti said. "I was unable to bring here what I thought was needed to be successful. You look at this team now, with what ownership and Stan and Andrew and Farhan have given him, Dave has been able to sculpt it, and I think it's tremendous." Relationship with Ward helping Puig blossom By Jesse Sanchez HOUSTON -- More than a dozen reporters from across the country jockeyed for time at Yasiel Puig's table for the start of World Series Media Day on Monday at Dodger Stadium, and the first questions the outfielder heard either started or ended with two words: Turner Ward. With each question lobbed his way, Puig turned his head to his right and barked at the Dodgers' hitting coach, who sat at the table next to him. "Hey, Turner! Turner! The people are asking about you," Puig joked. "They know I don't like you. Come here and give me a kiss. This is the World Series." Ward obliged, shuffling over to Puig's table, wrapping both arms around the outfielder's neck from behind and giving him a big smooch on his right cheek. It has been Puig's bat licking, tongue wagging, bat flipping and newly dyed blue hair that has received the attention this month. But it is his play on the field and his relationship with Ward that will be most remembered if the Dodgers win the Fall Classic. Puig isn't new and improved. He's just better than he was, and he can thank Ward for the change of pace. The timing is perfect. The Dodgers and Astros split the first two games of the World Series in Los Angeles, and now the Series shifts to Houston for three games starting Friday. Puig's only hit in the World Series so far was his home run in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 7-6 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday. The sold-out crowd at Dodger Stadium chanted, "Let's go Puig! Let's go Puig!" every time he stepped into the batter's box. "[Ward] is a good hitting coach, and he's given me a lot of information," Puig said. "He tells me to take it easy at home plate and hit the best pitch that I can. I don't swing at balls in the dirt and things like that anymore. I'm very grateful to him and my teammates for not giving up on me." Puig defected from Cuba in the winter of 2012 and signed with the Dodgers later that year. His tenure with the club has been entertaining, at times maddening, brilliant and puzzling. The enigmatic player was demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City at the end of last season, and he spent the offseason on the trading block.

5 Puig responded this year with one of the best seasons of his career and a postseason to remember. According to Statcast, Puig, who has a reputation as a free-swinger, chased only 27 percent of pitches out of the strike zone during the regular season, and he has chased just 19.8 percent during the postseason -- both career bests. His swing-and-miss percentage on in-zone pitches is a career-low 11.9 percent. "I think, No. 1, he's taking more walks," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And if you want to kind of dig into that, he's just been way more disciplined in the strike zone, where I think in years past a walk was not necessarily looked at as a positive for him. And now he's understanding that to be able to keep the line moving, there's a lot of value in that." Puig has walked six times in 10 postseason games this year. He walked 64 times during the regular season, the second most of his career. "I look at it a lot like my time in Arizona with Paul Goldschmidt," said Ward, who was part of the D- backs' coaching staff for three years before joining the Dodgers in "Goldy wanted to be the best, and he became a sponge. Yasiel can be a little bit more stubborn, but stubbornness can be great. You just can't be so stubborn that you are not willing to learn and grow. He knew he needed to get better, and he knew he had to make some minor adjustments." The admiration is mutual. Puig bear-hugs Ward and kisses him on the cheek after every home run. He planted one on his cheek during pregame introductions before his team's 3-1 victory against the Astros in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. "That's our thing. That's what we do," Puig said. "We have been doing it all season, so of course I was going to give him a kiss in the World Series. It was a big game, a special game for us." Ward's first real interaction with Puig came in 2013 in a benches-clearing incident between the D-backs and Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Puig, who was clipped by a pitch in the nose during the game, punched D-backs infielder Eric Hinske in the back of the head during the fracas. Ward was hit twice in the stomach by Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell and slammed into the railing near the camera well. Hinske was recently named the hitting coach for the Angels, adding another interesting wrinkle to the Freeway Series. "My friends ask me how I can love a person that tried to tear my head off a few years ago," Ward said. "But they are just watching that situation from afar. What I see now is a person full of love and compassion. How would I ever know that this would happen, that we would be so close? There's no way I would know that. "Don't get me wrong. It's been hard. Sometimes he can be difficult, but sometimes your own kids can be difficult. I say he's my 16-year-old. He's just a little kid, and my kids love him. All kids love him."

6 he relationship began in earnest during Spring Training in 2016 after an hour-long conversation when Puig shared the dangerous and painful details of his defection from Cuba. The story brought Ward to tears. He still gets choked up when he thinks about what Puig has sacrificed to be in the United States. "I know he wants to be the best, and there's nothing like knowing someone wants to be the very best," Ward said. "I decided that day that I was going to do everything in my power to help this kid. I challenged him, and I gave him permission to call me out. But on the flipside, I told him I was going to call him out, too. I think that trust and accountability we have has worked for both of us." If all goes according to their plan, Puig will keep planting playful smooches on Ward. He says he'll continue to bat flip on singles and wag his tongue because baseball is supposed to be fun. In a funny twist, Puig put his bat down gently after his home run Wednesday, in what can be best described as an anti-bat flip. In the fourth inning, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel, who once played against Puig in Cuba, drew a 94-mph laser throw to third from the outfielder. Puig then struck a pose. "The Dodgers fans have been waiting for this moment for 29 years, and now it's time to bring back the trophy," Puig said. "I'm going to do my best and do my crazy stuff. This is one of the biggest moments of my career." Morning Lineup podcast previews Game 3 By MLB.com Now that we've had a chance to catch our breath after Game 2, it's time to look ahead to Game 3 in today's edition of the Morning Lineup podcast. In addition to downloading today's podcast, you can subscribe with itunes or have the podcast delivered to your RSS feed. You can also listen to other MLB.com podcasts, featuring everything from Cut4 to the PosCast. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince and Richard Justice look ahead to a pivotal Game 3 as the World Series shifts to Houston. Which team benefits more from an extra day of rest and the addition of the DH? How will Minute Maid Park affect momentum? And what does this Astros squad mean to the city of Houston after Hurricane Harvey? Tune in to the Morning Lineup podcast daily during the World Series for more insight and analysis from Justice and Castrovince.

7 Difficult decisions await skippers on WS stage By Richard Justice HOUSTON -- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts faces two decisions as the Fall Classic shifts to Minute Maid Park tonight. His first is no decision at all. If the Dodgers have a lead in the ninth inning, closer Kenley Jansen will get the baseball again. That s the easy one. "I'll take Kenley any day of the week with a one-run lead going into the ninth inning," Roberts said Thursday Jansen blew his first save of the postseason when Marwin Gonzalez hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning on Wednesday in Game 2 of the World Series. Plenty happened after that, but the Astros ended up winning 7-6 in 11 innings. The Dodgers had been 98-0 when leading after eight innings. Roberts was concerned enough with his closer's confidence on Wednesday night to check and make sure he was in the right frame of mind. "It doesn't happen very often that a game is blown when he takes the baseball," Roberts said. "So I just wanted to come back, circle back with him, make sure he was in a good state of mind, which he was. And it's baseball, things like that happen. But he was obviously disappointed but prepared for tomorrow." With the World Series shifting to Texas for Games 3, 4 and 5, it'll be business as usual for the Dodgers' bullpen. But that's just one of many crucial decisions that Roberts and his counterpart, Astros manager A.J. Hinch, will have to navigate in the days to come. The Dodgers worked out at a silent Minute Maid Park on Thursday night. In case you were wondering, the Astros control the music at their ballpark, and silence may have been payback for the soft rock that was played at Dodger Stadium during Houston's workout. Anyway, Roberts was criticized for pulling starter Rich Hill after four innings, but this is the same move he made during the regular season when the Dodgers won 104 games. The Twins were the only playoff team to get fewer innings from their starters than the Dodgers. And the Dodgers' bullpen began the day on Wednesday with a 25-inning shutout streak in the postseason. At this point, the last thing either of these managers is going to do is make a dramatic change. Now about that designated hitter spot in the lineup.

8 That's the change Roberts will make with the World Series in an American League park for three games. He would not commit to a DH on Thursday, saying only that Joc Pederson will be in left field and Austin Barnes will catch against Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. Roberts said he would take a deeper dive into the numbers before deciding who to go with at DH. Andre Ethier is one possibility, Charlie Culberson another. "We'll kind of think through it a little bit more," Roberts said. Meanwhile, Hinch faces a decision of his own in what to do if his team has a ninth-inning lead. Hinch found himself in the uncomfortable position of denying a TMZ report that he'd been in an "altercation" on Tuesday night after Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. He tackled it the way he'll handle the tough decisions ahead: direct, clear and protective of his players and his organization. "First off, there was no altercation," Hinch said. "It's a shame I get asked about some nonsense and fabrications and non-stories, and I have to respond to it on a national stage. To reiterate: There was no altercation, and that's as far as I'm going to go. It's ridiculous." In discussing who might be called upon to protect a late lead, Hinch stood up for his closer, Ken Giles, who has an 8.22 ERA after six postseason appearances, while also saying he'll do what's best for his team. It's possible one of his other late-inning relievers -- Chris Devenski, Will Harris or Joe Musgrove -- could get key late outs if the matchups favor any of them over Giles. We're in this together, Hinch seemed to be saying, Giles included. "What the playoffs show across the board, from the beginning of the postseason all the way through the World Series, are roles are softly defined," Hinch said. "But I think Ken Giles is going to get another save in this Series. "I think he's going to get some really big outs. I think when the crowd is standing in this ballpark over the next couple of games, if we can have the lead and he's the right matchup, he's going to get the last out. He's done it awfully well this year. "And again, I reiterate to you guys, just because somebody has a bad day at work, does not mean that they need to be condemned and sent away. These guys are good players on a national stage and they are competing against the best team in the National League, and for that I'm going to keep putting him in and trusting him." Dodgers have intriguing DH options for G3 By Matthew Leach It's not as though the Dodgers need a lot of offensive help. As they headed east for Game 3 of the World Series tonight, though, they were going to get some.

9 The National League champs get to add a designated hitter to their already formidable lineup, and unlike some NL teams at this time of year, they have some appealing options. Manager Dave Roberts cited Joc Pederson, Andre Ethier and Yasmani Grandal as options to face Lance McCullers Jr.. And one of them, ever so slightly, stands out as the best fit for the job. Superficially, they're somewhat similar hitters. Pederson and Ethier are lefties, while Grandal is a switchhitter who would hit lefty against McCullers. None is a particularly high-average hitter at this point. All have shown some willingness to take a walk, all have at least moderate power, and all are prone to strike out. So part of Roberts' decision may be tactical -- does he want his No. 2 catcher serving as his DH? Would he prefer not to use Pederson at DH, given that the youngster might need to pull a shift in center field at some point? But there's another consideration: the pitcher. McCullers is unique. He threw his curveball more often than any pitcher in the Major Leagues who threw at least 2,000 pitches this year, at 47.3 percent of the time. And McCullers also threw it the hardest of starting pitcher in the Majors, at 85.6 mph. He also throws one of the hardest changeups in the league, at an average of 88.6 mph. There just aren't a lot of pitchers like McCullers. So one way to look at this question is, which of the three hitters is most likely to have success against that kind of pitcher? Let's start with the curveball. And the short answer is, none of these players is going to be in the lineup for his success against a hard curveball. They've all struggled mightily. Over the past three seasons, against curves or knuckle-curves of at least 83 mph, Ethier is 2-for-12 (.167), Grandal is 2-for-26 (.077) and Pederson is 2-for-29 (.069). Pederson does have a homer off an 87- mph curve from Matt Harvey, but it's safe to say the curveball will be a good way to attack any of these hitters. But the changeup provides a bit more clarity. Over that same time frame, against changeups of at least 87 mph, two of our candidates have stood out. Ethier has hit.313 (in, admittedly, 16 at-bats) and slugged.688, while Pederson has hit.297 and slugged.649 (in 37 at-bats). Grandal has scuffled against hard changeups too, going 7-for-50. It's not that McCullers throws the change all that much -- about 11 percent of the time -- but we're looking at fine margins here, and this is an advantage. As for McCullers' fastball, it's fairly standard. He stays between with his four-seamer, and it's the only fastball he throws. Here the differences are fairly small. Ethier has a.400 woba (weighted on-base

10 average, a measure of overall batting performance) against four-seamers in that range, Grandal is at.380 and Pederson is at.344. Still, once again, it's a bit of an advantage for Ethier. And given that he's the one player out of this bunch that the Dodgers aren't likely to want to bring in for defense, thus losing the DH, he would appear to be the best pick. Darvish out to give LA 2-1 lead vs. familiar foe By Jenifer Langosch HOUSTON -- Days from now, Yu Darvish will be ready to turn his attention to the future, where intrigue abounds regarding where the free-agent-to-be will land and how sizable a contract he'll command. But more immediate aspirations rest on the shoulders of the rejuvenated right-hander in this moment. With an even World Series pivoting to Houston for Game 3, Darvish will draw tonight's start against an Astros team that stunned the Dodgers in a come-from-behind victory Wednesday. "Yu's had a lot of experiences, and he's prepared for this moment," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I know he's excited for this moment. We expect him to pitch well." Years of pitching in the American League West leaves little unknown as Darvish prepares for an Astros offense that broke out for seven runs on 14 hits in Game 2. However, not everything about Darvish may seem so familiar to the Astros. After finalizing a deal to acquire Darvish minutes before the non-waiver Trade Deadline on July 31, the Dodgers greeted him with suggestions. Over the next two months, Darvish listened and adapted, tweaking his arm slot, simplifying his pitch mix and finding a repeatable delivery. Darvish found renewed success amid it all. After posting a 4.01 ERA in 22 starts with the Rangers, Darvish saw his results improve with the Dodgers. He finished particularly strong, allowing one earned run over 19 1/3 innings in his final three regular-season starts. "I think that even when he came over, there was a lot of him trying to feel his way through a start, where now he can just worry about executing pitches," Roberts said. "So outside of going into kind of how we're going to attack these guys, I think that he's in a great place. And he says it himself, that he's very comfortable and confident." It also makes him perhaps less recognizable to the Astros than the matchup history would suggest. "To them I'm a different kind of pitcher, different type of pitcher in my pitch selection," Darvish, speaking through a translator, said on Thursday. "So they feel I may have a different approach."

11 The Astros most recently faced Darvish in June, when he opposed them twice within a 10-day span. That second meeting came at Minute Maid Park, where Darvish allowed one run on one hit over seven innings. "He's got 15 pitches you have to deal with, from different angles, and he can reach back and have velocity," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "For us, having familiarity will help a little bit, but when you get to Game 3 of the World Series, the competition will be at a unique level. And we'll see how he adjusts or do we adjust." Over his career, Darvish is 4-1 with a 2.16 ERA in six starts at the ballpark. In five of those six outings, Darvish finished at least seven innings. "It's better to know that I've pitched here before, but tomorrow's game, it could be totally different from my previous outings here," Darvish said Thursday. "Maybe it will give me a little bit of an advantage, but it really doesn't matter." Seemingly of more significance is the way in which Darvish has pitched leading into his first World Series appearance. He led the Dodgers to wins in his two previous postseason starts while surrendering two runs on eight hits and striking out 14 in 11 1/3 innings. Darvish also unexpectedly offered one of the club's offensive surprises by drawing a bases-loaded walk that helped turn Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. Though he won't be taking an atbat on Friday, Darvish will help dictate what sets up as a swing game in this Series. Clubs that have taken a 2-1 World Series advantage have gone on to win the championship 57 of 88 times. "Every player has a different thing that drives them -- fame, fortune, individual success," Roberts said. "I think it's just he wants to win a championship. And I think that he has complete clarity on what he wants to do and how he feels mechanically. So now he's sort of on autopilot, just trying to do whatever it takes to win a championship." Tied turning: Classic to rock Houston tonight By Anthony Castrovince We knew coming into this World Series that two 100-win teams opposing each other for the first time in 47 years made for special stuff. Turns out, the Astros and Dodgers are up to the task of ensuring the Series itself is as special as the statistical oddity. Now that the Astros have evened things up with an epic, exhausting and exhilarating Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, there can be no denying that this Fall Classic has true classic potential. So Game 3 at Minute Maid Park tonight, with Lance McCullers Jr. and Yu Darvish set to start, is a pivotal moment.

12 Does the momentum from Wednesday's wild one carry into this one? "If we lost, I would have said no," Astros manager A.J. Hinch joked. "Since we won, I'd say absolutely, this will be a big swing." Game 2 was all about big swings -- a World Series record of eight in one ballgame, including five in extra innings. In fact, 82.4 percent of all runs scored in the first two games came via the long ball. Now the Series heads to a ballpark with hitter-friendly dimensions down the lines. But it also heads to airconditioned comfort after those scorching temps in L.A., and the roof will be closed for Game 3, creating a loud and potentially intimidating environment for a Dodgers team coming off a heartbreaking defeat. "We've got a very resilient group," manager Dave Roberts said, "a lot of guys that have been around a long time. We'll be ready to go." The Astros, who are coming off the first World Series game victory in franchise history, are 6-0, have outscored opponents, 31-7, and have posted a 1.17 ERA at home this October. Housing all those Houstonians who have invested so much emotional energy into this ballclub in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Minute Maid Park will be loud and rocking, just as it was when the Astros returned home and salvaged their season after a real Bronx bummer in the American League Championship Series. This time, the return home isn't about awakening the seemingly broken bats; it's about continuing the clout that saw the Astros infiltrate the Dodgers' previously impenetrable bullpen, which hadn't allowed a run in its previous 28 innings of work. Marwin Gonzalez, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer all went deep in the ninth inning or beyond in Game 2, a heroic home run derby that spared the Astros from having to hear all those daunting stats about how past teams have fared on this stage when down, 0-2. "It gave us a little bit of momentum," said third baseman Alex Bregman, "and we're happy to be home, play in front of these fans in Houston." Since the World Series moved permanently to the current format in 1946, there have been 34 series tied after the first two games. The club going home for Games 3-5 has gone on to win 18 times (52.9 percent), and on four of those occasions, they closed it out in Game 5 -- most recently, the 2008 Phillies against the Rays. Three times during that span, a team has won Games 3-5 on the road to end the Fall Classic -- most recently, the 1983 Orioles at Philadelphia. Right now, it's the Dodgers facing the challenge of getting their groove back after such a difficult defeat, in which they had the potential tying run at the plate in the 11th. Whether they have to strongly rely on their bullpen again in Game 3 will be a matter for Darvish to decide. The impact acquisition has been fantastic this postseason, with a 2-0 record and a 1.59 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. As a former member of the Rangers, he's of course pitched many games in the state of Texas -- and many times against this Astros team -- and he's typically been terrific in this ballpark. Darvish is 4-1 with a 2.16 ERA in six career starts at Minute Maid Park, including a near-perfect game and a separate near-no-hitter in 2013.

13 "It's better to know that I've pitched here before," Darvish, who is 4-0 with an 0.88 ERA in his past five starts, said through an interpreter. "Maybe it will give me a little bit of an advantage, but it really doesn't matter." The Dodgers would benefit from depth from Darvish after their bullpen covered nine innings in the first two games of this Series and had its 28-inning scoreless streak snapped in Game 2. After allowing just three earned runs in 30 2/3 innings across its first nine games this postseason, the Dodgers' bullpen allowed six runs over seven innings in Game 2. With the move to the AL park, the Dodgers are expected to keep Corey Seager at shortstop and use either Joc Pederson, Andre Ethier or Yasmani Grandal at DH in the three games at Minute Maid. Houston's return home creates more opportunity for Carlos Beltran or Evan Gattis. The Astros will be hoping that McCullers can build off the relief brilliance he displayed in the Game 7 ALCS clincher against the Yanks. McCullers went on a curveball feast in that fantastic four-inning save, allowing just a hit and a walk with six strikeouts. The Dodgers had the best batting average in baseball against the curve this year (.274) per Statcast, but they are hitting just.167 (7-for-42) off curves this postseason. "This is a very, very talented group that I'll be facing," McCullers said. "They can really swing it. And as you guys saw the last couple of nights, even the first night -- we lost, it was still a really, really good game. One swing of the bat was the difference. I'm very confident in myself, very confident in the game plan we all put together." Plans called for an epic Series between two superpower squads. After two games, those plans are coming to fruition. So let's see what the Dodgers and Astros have in store for us for Game 3. LA TIMES Dodgers hope to 'turn the page' in Houston after gut-wrenching Game 2 loss By Andy McCullough The exorcism of Game 2 of the World Series, a punishing 7-6 defeat that cost the Dodgers a chance to seize a two-game advantage over the Houston Astros, began a half hour after Yasiel Puig struck out to end the night. In the center of the Dodgers clubhouse stood Kenley Jansen, the indomitable closer who could not suppress the Astros, a feisty group which overcame a two-run deficit heading into the eighth inning to outlast the Dodgers in 11 innings. A strange expression covered Jansen s face. He was smiling.

14 A procession of Dodgers officials visited Jansen. He greeted owner Mark Walter and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Manager Dave Roberts led Sandy Koufax toward Jansen. The duo climbed over equipment bags bound for Houston to reach the closer. Koufax offered a hug. Roberts did likewise. As he spoke with Koufax and Roberts, Jansen made a dismissive gesture, as if waving away the game from his mind. He had no more interest discussing the misplaced cutter that Astros outfielder Marwin Gonzalez crushed to tie the score in the ninth. Already, Jansen had insisted to reporters earlier, he was thinking about an opportunity to close out Game 3 on Friday at Minute Maid Park. Instead of relying solely on traditional marketing efforts like TV commercials and print ads, think about complementing your marketing campaigns with simple and less expensive promotional techniques. SPONSORED CONTENT BY Nationwide That s right! Roberts said. That s what I m talking about! After cruising through the first two rounds of the playoffs, inserting and removing his pitchers with a deft hand and pristine timing, Roberts saw his process break down at the hands of the Astros. As part of his daily ritual, he went over the game with members of the front office afterward. Roberts insisted he did not lose sleep. That s the way we ve done things all year long, Roberts said. I know our players understand it, believe in it. I know I believe in it. You just can t really get caught up in chasing results. You have to really believe in the process. I know I do. In the Astros, the Dodgers have found an opponent worthy of challenging their process, the bullpen machinery that quieted the Diamondbacks and the Cubs. Arizona and Chicago featured talented lineups powered by one or two starts: Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez for Arizona, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo for Chicago. Houston offers a more formidable task. The Astros led the major leagues in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. No team scored more runs. The lineup features seven players who hit 18 homers or more and eight players who hit 25 doubles or more. There are few dead spots in the batting order. The Dodgers felt the force of that group on Wednesday. Nobody said it was going to be easy, Jansen said. As Roberts conducted his postgame postmortem, a few inflection points arose: Did he remove starting pitcher Rich Hill too early? Could he have built a sturdier bridge to Brandon Morrow and Jansen? Did Morrow depart too soon? In each instance, Roberts insisted, he felt confident in his decision-making process. The most glaring choice involved Hill. He struck out seven batters in four innings of one-run baseball, but Roberts opted

15 to send Kenta Maeda out for the fifth inning. With the top of the Astros batting order looming for a third time, Roberts chose a fresh arm over Hill. In making this decision, Roberts confronted two conflicting sets of data. Hill limited opposing hitters to a.408 on-base plus slugging percentage on his third time through the order. Despite that information, Hill only went twice through the batting order in his first two starts this postseason. Roberts also considered the platoon advantage Houston held against Hill. The first five batters in Houston s lineup batted from the right side. George Springer posted a.972 OPS against left-handed pitchers in the regular season. Alex Bregman s OPS against left-handers was.974. Jose Altuve s was.977. So Roberts went with Maeda. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning, allowed a single to start the sixth and departed with one out. Roberts chose left-handed reliever Tony Watson to face Brian McCann, a lefthanded hitter. Roberts did not want to execute a double-switch, because he would have had to remove Joc Pederson, and Pederson had just tied the score with a home run an inning earlier. At this point, Roberts touch still drew comparisons to Midas. Watson threw one pitch, and McCann rolled into an inning-ending double play. The pitcher s spot was due up second in the bottom of the sixth. Watson exited for a pinch-hitter. A two-run homer by Corey Seager gave the Dodgers the lead. Another inflection point loomed: Roberts chose Ross Stripling, a right-handed pitcher, to face Gonzalez, a switch-hitter who does well against right-handed pitchers. Stripling let his manager down. He threw four pitches, all of them balls. At that point, with the tying run in the batter s box, Roberts turned to Morrow, the reliever he trusts more than any outside of Jansen. Morrow induced a double play and escaped the inning. Roberts acknowledge he could have sent Jansen to start the eighth. But he did not want to overextend his closer, and hoped to limit his save opportunity to four or five outs. Instead Bregman smoked a leadoff double. Roberts wanted Jansen to face Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel. Correa plated a run with an RBI single. Yet as the Dodgers prepared for the ninth inning, Jansen held a one-run lead and prepared to face Gonzalez, the No. 7 hitter in the Astros lineup. The process, it appeared, had worked. Until it didn t. The homer by Gonzalez tied the score. Forced to use his less reliable relievers, Roberts watched Josh Fields serve up a pair of homers in the 10th. A furious comeback in the bottom of the inning proved for naught when Brandon McCarthy gave up a two-run shot to Springer. Last night hurt, Roberts said. We turned the page.

16 Houston Astros want the retractable roof at Minute Maid Park closed for Games 3, 4 and 5 By Pedro Moura The Houston Astros have not played a game with Minute Maid Park s retractable roof open since June 9. They want that to remain the case through Games 3, 4 and 5 of the World Series this weekend against the Dodgers, the last games of the year to be played in the stadium. We want it closed. We've got to have it closed, reliever Chris Devenski said. I feel the electricity when it's closed is so much better. We have so much excitement being here and the electricity and the vibe. I feel like we feed off of it. According to the Astros blog that documents the status of the structure, the roof was open for only 14 of 78 games this season. (The Astros played three home games in St. Petersburg, Fla., because of Hurricane Harvey.) Those were mostly in April, when the weather is more temperate than in the humid summer. Ultimately, what to do with the roof is not the team s choice. The decision on an open or closed roof during postseason play rests with MLB, whose determination is based in part on the factors that guide the home club during the regular season, league spokesperson Mike Teevan said. In the regular season, the Astros have closed the roof when there are threats of rain, threats of sustained winds above 30 mph, temperatures below 65 degrees for a night game or temperatures or heat-index readings above 88 at night or 84 during the day. Games 3, 4 and 5 will begin at 7:20 p.m. in Houston, 5:20 in Los Angeles. Friday's forecast for Game 3 calls for a threat of rain and a cool 59-degree reading at first pitch. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be precipitation-free, but prognosticated first-pitch temperatures do not reach 65 degrees. So, the roof probably will be closed every night, as it was when the Dodgers worked out Thursday night. We want the roof closed because we don't want to get rained on, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. That's tomorrow. It's quite an environment. When we play under the roof, our fans get going. In addition to the elevated noise level, right-hander Lance McCullers, the Astros Game 3 starter, said he felt more comfortable with the roof closed. That's how we play most of the games here, McCullers said. We re very used to it. I definitely think it's part of our home-field advantage. We re very accustomed to it, which is I think why a lot of the guys want it to stay the same.

17 Third baseman Alex Bregman reiterated his teammates thoughts at a news conference. He said there was no doubt in the team s mind what their decision would be, if the decision was theirs. Later, when Bregman arose to depart the conference room, he leaned into a microphone and repeated that the roof should be closed. Hinch disputed a TMZ Sports story that he engaged in a heated altercation at a Pasadena hotel bar after his team s loss to the Dodgers in Tuesday s World Series opener. "There was no altercation, Hinch said. It's a shame I get asked about nonsense, fabrications and nonstories on the national stage. He continued: Fabrications really suck." Hinch declined to comment further. The Astros cut off a follow-up question about whether Hinch snapped and yelled at bar patrons who had been talking trash about his team, as TMZ Sports reported. A Pasadena police spokesperson said no crime occurred at the scene and no report was taken. "There was no fight that we were separating when we got there," Pasadena Lt. Tracey Ibarra said. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would start Joc Pederson in left field and Austin Barnes at catcher in Game 3. He declined to name his designated hitter. Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig and shortstop Corey Seager were among three finalists at each position for National League Gold Glove awards. The winners will be announced next month. According to two reports, Dodgers player development director Gabe Kapler is one of two finalists for the Philadelphia Phillies vacant managerial job. In 2015, Kapler finished as the runner-up for the Dodgers opening that Roberts won. Yu Darvish hasn't waited his whole life for the World Series, so he's free from the pressure of the moment By Dylan Hernandez Yu Darvish will make his World Series debut on Friday for the Dodgers in Game 3 against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, but if you think he has waited his entire life for this moment, think again. Asked when he first started thinking of wanting to pitch in the World Series, he replied in Japanese, I never have. Really? I have never thought about wanting to pitch in the World Series, he said. I just don t want to lose until the end. When you lose in a division series or league championship series, everyone is like this.

18 Darvish looked down and hunched over, as if to convey sadness. I don t like going into the offseason with that feeling, so my goal has always been to win until the end, he said. So, as a result, winning the World Series has become my goal. But I have stronger feelings about wanting to end the season with a win. Making history doesn t appeal to him, either. You can leave your mark in history, but once you re dead it doesn t matter, so I don t really think about that, he said. Darvish s candor doesn t mean he doesn t care. He does. Someone who doesn t care wouldn t develop a 10-pitch arsenal, or make the kind of drastic adjustments he made after his midseason trade to the Dodgers. Someone who doesn t care wouldn t have performed as he did in his first two starts of this postseason, limiting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a run over five innings and the Chicago Cubs to a run over 6 1/3 innings. Remember, he wasn t born and raised here. He spent his childhood in Osaka, dreaming of playing in the Japanese league. My goal was to become a professional baseball player in Japan, he said. He couldn t even remember when he first became aware of the World Series. It s no wonder he only recently learned his manager, Dave Roberts, was the player who helped salvage the 2004 season for the Boston Red Sox by stealing second base in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Darvish was 25 when he moved from the Japanese league s Nippon-Ham Fighters to the Texas Rangers. I didn t really come to the major leagues because I wanted to come, he explained. It s more accurate to say I came because I was in a situation where I had to come. He had to come because Nippon Professional Baseball ceased to be a challenge. His sense of professional obligation pushed him to the big leagues. When I first came here, I didn t even know which teams were in which division. I wasn t thinking about the World Series. Yu Darvish When I first came here, I didn t even know which teams were in which division, Darvish said. I wasn t thinking about the World Series. His goal was to become the best pitcher on the planet.

19 I do have feelings about wanting to be the No. 1 pitcher in the world, he said. To this day, that remains my goal. And how close does he think he is? If I can continue feeling like I do now, I think I will be able to start seeing it, he said. Darvish, 31, simplified his approach over the final month of the season, attacking right-handed hitters with his fastball and left-handed hitters with his cutter. He allowed only one earned run over his last three regular-season starts. Because pitching at this stage of the postseason doesn t mark the realization of a lifelong dream, Darvish said he isn t nervous and doesn t want to be. I m not thinking too much about the pressure, he said. If I think about it, I won t be able to pitch calmly, so I try to control my emotions to where I don t feel pressure. That wasn t the case when he pitched in the Japan Series, NPB s equivalent of the World Series. Darvish envisioned himself pitching there, and when it happened he was extremely anxious. I was playing with the goal of becoming a champion in Japan, he said. So when the possibility of being a champion in Japan was right in front of me, it became something special and I started feeling pressure and having unnecessary thoughts. Darvish is pleased to be taking on the Astros, his former division rival from the American League West. He wanted to pitch in Minute Maid Park, and went as far as to ask manager Dave Roberts if he could pitch in Game 3 of the series instead of Game 2. Darvish is 4-1 with a 2.16 earned-run average in six career starts at the Astros home stadium. He also likes that he won t have to step in the batter s box. Honestly, I wanted to play against Houston, he said. We grew by competing against each other. When the Rangers went to Houston, the Houston fans didn t say anything nasty to the Rangers, and when Houston visited to Arlington, it wasn t a nasty rivalry. It was a really good rivalry. Houston has many players who are good people, so it was really fun to play against them. He has similarly warm feelings about the Dodgers, who embraced him after his July 31 trade from the Rangers. The weather is nice, Darvish said. The food is good. The traffic is troublesome, but the team is good. I really look forward to coming to the stadium every day. Roberts said that much is clear.

20 You can see it with his teammates, you can see when other guys have success how much joy he gets out of that, Roberts said. Darvish is an impending free agent. If he wants to return to the Dodgers, he might have sabotaged his chances by pitching as well as he has. He s now a likely candidate to land a long-term contract, which the Dodgers don t like offering to pitchers. That s true, he said with a laugh. But does he want to return? Darvish said it was up to Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers president of baseball operations. If they pay me, he said. I m always telling Friedman that. We re always laughing about that. Some concepts transcend culture. Astros embrace change of scenery in World Series, while the Dodgers try to recapture the magic by sticking to the plan By Bill Plaschke A day later, the Houston Astros were still beaming. We re coming off one of the most epic baseball games in any of our careers, said their manager A.J. Hinch. That feels good. A day later, the Dodgers were still wondering. Yeah, last night hurt, acknowledged manager Dave Roberts. We ve turned the page. Well, at least they ve changed the location, the World Series now moving from picturesque Chavez Ravine to a garage named after a juice box. The Dodgers and Astros will take their duel to Minute Maid Park on Friday tied at one game apiece, but they arrived there Thursday from vastly different directions. The Astros were still celebrating a night that could have changed a series, still waxing over their comeback, 7-6, 11-inning win in Wednesday s Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. It was an incredible game, it was just fun to be a part of, and it gave us a little bit of momentum, said Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. The Dodgers, meanwhile, were still answering questions about how a team that was 98-0 this season when leading after eight innings could break that goose egg at the worst possible time in one of the worst possible games.

21 Why did Roberts pull starter Rich Hill after just four innings when he had given up one run with seven strikeouts? Why did he pull reliever Tony Watson after just one double-play pitch? Why didn t he bring in Kenley Jansen to start the eighth, before Brandon Morrow could give up that ground-rule double to Bregman? And how could he burn through so many relievers that the game was decided by the bullpen s two mop-up men, Josh Fields and Brandon McCarthy? That answer, of course, is that Roberts was simply managing the way he has managed all season, less reliance on starters, scripted work by relievers, the formula resulting in 104 regular-season wins and an 8-1 playoff record until Wednesday night. When it worked, and it worked up until Jansen gave up the leadoff homer to Marwin Gonzalez in the ninth, Roberts was called a genius. Even in the middle of this game, all over social media, when his relievers were finishing up a 28-inning scoreless streak, he was called brilliant. But one bad pitch from Jansen and suddenly Roberts is a fool? [It s] the way we ve done things all year long, I know our players understand it, believe in it, I know I believe in it, he said. You just can t really get caught up in chasing results, you have to kind of really believe in the process, and I know I do. By not chasing results, the 2017 Dodgers have gotten the best results in baseball until now. With less than a week left in the season, the process has already worked, helping the Dodgers to within three wins of their first World Series championship in 29 years. It s not about the process anymore, it s about the players. For as many as five more games, it s about how the Dodgers players respond to their first bit of October adversity. They have to play the next three games in a place where the Astros are 6-0 in the postseason. They have to play two of those games without their ace Clayton Kershaw. And they have do it with the memory of how they had this series in their grasp and suddenly dropped it. We re upbeat, we re upbeat, Roberts claimed. It s not down, it s not disappointed, there s definitely no feeling sorry for ourselves. There s definitely no time for it. Two days after telling the media, I m just human, Jansen will have to figure out how to be superhuman again, the Dodgers entire pitching plan being based around that fact. Noted baseball scribe Jayson Stark came up with a couple of statistics that showed the stunning depths of Jansen s Game 2 fall. Before Wednesday night, Jansen had been given a lead 20 times in the last five postseasons, and blown zero of those leads. Also, the Gonzalez blast was the first time in Jansen s career that he had given up a tying or go-ahead home run on an 0-and-2 pitch