Los Angeles Dodgers Gain Advantage With Rain Out
If yesterday’s postseason schedule felt a bit light with only one game on the docket, it’s because it was. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals will make up their game that was scheduled for Saturday this morning, which was a scheduled travel day for both clubs.
So why does this give the Los Angeles Dodgers an advantage? Well there are two reasons, really. The first is that they will be traveling back to California following the game, so any lag that lingers from the lack of a day off should be shrugged off a bit easier by the home team, which in this case happens to be L.A.
The Dodgers could also be up 2-0 in the series with a chance to clinch a spot in the NLCS, which would give them an extra boost, even against left-hander Gio Gonzalez. The Dodgers have notoriously struggled against lefties this season, which is at least part of the reason that the San Francisco Giants traded Matt Duffy to the Tampa Bay Rays in order to land Matt Moore at the trade deadline.
While Gio is not on the same level as say, a Madison Bumgarner or Clayton Kershaw, he does have his moments of brilliance.
The second reason that this rain delay could give the Dodgers an advantage is that their closer Kenley Jansen, who threw 27 pitches in Game One of the series on Friday, gets an extra day of rest. It’s likely that manager Dave Roberts will be leaning on Jansen throughout the playoffs, and a break in the schedule could end up making Jansen available for a larger role in Game Two than he would have otherwise been able to provide.
At the same time, if the two teams play each other close on Sunday and Monday and split the two games, the day off could end up hurting the Dodgers as he would potentially be pitching on three consecutive days, and would likely cause him to be slightly less effective. For this to take place, however, the Nationals would have to take care of business in one of the next two games.
All in all, the advantage from the rain out lays in the hands of the Dodgers. They could win on Sunday and take control of the series, giving them options out of the bullpen in place of Jansen if he needs a breather, while also receiving a boost from coming home, regardless of where the series stands.