Why the Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series Favorites
How it all goes down
Game one is likely to see Dodgers ace (no, not that one) Hyun-Jin Ryu facing off against Justin Verlander. Verlander is pretty darn great, but the Dodgers have seen him before. The Astros have yet to see Ryu, this version of him at least, and has he been lights out this season. Ryu was not on the roster for the 2017 World Series.
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Verlander is elite in the postseason, and it’s more than likely that the Dodgers, as well as whoever plays Houston in a potential ALCS, will see him twice. That said, facing an ace is a lot easier when you have one of your own.
Game two will probably see Kershaw against Cole. Kershaw’s ERA this season is just a tick lower than Cole’s, while Cole’s 143 innings pitched this season overshadow Kershaw’s 117. None of that is going to matter come October. These are two elite pitchers, each with their own successes. The fact is, for whoever the Astros send to the mound in a potential World Series, the Dodgers will have an answer.
Speaking of answers, the Astros found one Wednesday when they traded for Zack Greinke. Dodgers fans know Greinke well, as he took the mound in an LA uniform for three years from 2013-2015.
He had a career year in his final season with LA, boasting a 1.66 ERA over 222.2 innings. That offseason, he signed a deal for $206.5 million to pitch for Arizona. He had a relatively rough first season with the D-Backs but settled back into classic Greinke-mode and led Arizona to the NLDS in 2017, where they were swept by the Dodgers. Just a couple of weeks later, the Dodgers would lose the World Series to Greinke’s new team.
He’s likely to get the ball in game 3 against Rich Hill or Walker Buehler.
Now, I don’t want to doubt Greinke. I think he’s an amazing pitcher and the Astros set themselves up really well by trading for him but the Dodgers know this guy. They’ve seen him, they’ve played behind him, they’ve hit homers off of him.
He’s seen LA twice this season and has not had a very good go of it. In 9.2 innings pitched over those two games, he’s given up 11 runs on 14 hits. His ERA against the Dodgers this year is over 10.
This is less of a knock against Greinke and more a nod to how good the Dodgers have been. They don’t care who’s on the mound, they just RAKE.
I’ve said it before, but it begs repeating; Zack Greinke is a great get for Houston. If they get to the World Series, he will probably have played a pretty big role in that, but as the Dodgers know all too well, getting to the World Series and winning it are two entirely different things.
If the Dodgers fall short, and the Astros face the Braves, or the Cubs, or the Brewers, best of luck, but I don’t think they will, I think they’ll face the Dodgers, and the Dodgers know how to beat Greinke.
Forget winter, dear fans, because October is coming.