The Braves had a feeling the Dodgers might go to ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 4, and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman found out for sure Monday morning on an elevator ride at the team hotel when teammate Brandon Beachy told him.
“I think it’s going to be good,” Freeman said. “We’re going to have to beat them anyways either today or on Wednesday. Kershaw hasn’t done this before in his career, pitched on three days’ rest, so maybe this will be a positive for us.”
Kershaw threw 124 pitches in a Game 1 victory Thursday in Atlanta. He’s never pitched on three days’ rest in his career. Kershaw struck out 12 in seven innings allowing only one run in a 6-1 victory over the Braves in Game 1.
“Maybe we can get to him a little early,” Freeman said. “Maybe he’s a little tired.”
The Dodgers went with Kershaw, the majors’ ERA leader and likely NL Cy Young winner, rather than Ricky Nolasco as originally scheduled. Nolasco is 6-10 with a 5.11 ERA in 24 games (23 starts) against the Braves including 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA in his past six starts.
With LA holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, the move is an aggressive play as the Dodgers are going for the series-clinching win at Dodger stadium, trying to prevent the series from extending to a possible Game 5 Wednesday at Turner Field.
“I think as a west coast team, they don’t want to go back to the east coast having to make another game like that,” Freeman said, referring to the Braves’ Game 2 victory in front of 48,000 at Turner Field. “I think it’s a smart move on their part. They want to get this series over with because they don’t want to go back to our fans in Atlanta.”
