Bullpen fluid, who does LA turn to in the 9th?

With Kenley Jansen dislodged as the closer, Dodgers management is free to deploy relievers with an even sharper focus than ever on pitcher vs. batter matchups, especially in the ninth inning.

That said, club president Andrew Friedman told DodgerTalk’s David Vassegh that Jansen won’t be mothballed.

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Oct. 12	ATL 5, LAD 1	Watch
Gm 2	Oct. 13	ATL 8, LAD 7	Watch
Gm 3	Oct. 14	LAD 15, ATL 3	Watch
Gm 4	Oct. 15	ATL 10, LAD 2	Watch
Gm 5	Oct. 16	LAD 7, ATL 3	Watch
Gm 6	Oct. 17	LAD 3, ATL 1	Watch
Gm 7	Oct. 18	LAD 4, ATL 3	Watch

All times ET
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“We’re going to need Kenley to be good, and we have some optimism that he will be,” Friedman said. “Now, whether that means it will be the ninth inning or whether that means a different situation, I don’t know. But to Kenley’s credit, he’s really bought in and set ego aside. It could be a situation where a subset of lineups come up, and you could name a bunch of different guys with how versatile our 'pen is right now. No question Kenley is going to help us win the NLCS. What role as far as timing of the game, I’m not sure yet.”

Without saying so, management did this with Jansen last postseason. The decision was made to use starter Clayton Kershaw in high-leverage relief instead of Jansen, with disastrous results.

Dodgers management believes strongly in matchups, as opposed to roles by inning. In the three NL Division Series games against the Padres, manager Dave Roberts made five pitching changes within an inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. came to bat.

During the offseason, reclamation project Blake Treinen was signed to be an option for a situation just like this. Like Jansen, Treinen has not only been a closer, but he also lost that job in Oakland.

For what it’s worth, of right-handed Dodgers relievers, Brusdar Graterol has the lowest opposing OPS by right-handed batters (.408), but he also has the highest opposing OPS by left-handed batters (.905). The reliever with the lowest OPS by left-handed hitters is Pedro Báez (.282), who also has the highest OPS by right-handed hitters (.774).

“The cool thing is all of us have gotten meaningful outs,” said Treinen. “In a shortened season, anything from the sixth inning on kind of feels like it can potentially be a closing situation. So whatever role, whatever inning, whatever matchup Dave is going to run us out there for, I think our bullpen is prepared and ready for it.”

Buehler 'in the best place'
Roberts, talking about Game 1 starter Walker Buehler, said the pitcher “is in the best place he’s been” in a few weeks with his infamous right index finger blister.

Buehler has been limited to four innings in each start since returning Sept. 24 from his second stint on the injured list. Against the Padres last round, however, he was able to make 95 pitches. Of course, with four walks and eight strikeouts, that many pitches were needed just to get through four innings.

Dustin May, a one-inning opener in Game 3 of the NLDS, pitched two innings of relief following Buehler in Game 1, and he’s the most likely to piggyback on Monday. Julio Urías, who piggybacked with Buehler in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and pitched five innings of relief in the Game 3 clincher of the NLDS, threw a bullpen session in Sunday’s workout. That puts him on track to start Game 3 or 4 of the NLCS, with Tony Gonsolin probably starting the other, although Roberts has not revealed those plans yet.

Final roster decisions loom
The club is mulling over roster decisions that center on the health of infielder Edwin Ríos, who missed the NLDS with a left groin strain suffered in a workout last weekend. On Sunday, Ríos took batting practice and ran the bases, but Roberts said at this point he would be comfortable with Ríos only as a pinch-hitter.

Roberts said the club wants to add a 15th pitcher because there are no days off in the NLCS, which makes it difficult to carry one player limited to pinch-hitting (Ríos) and one limited to pinch-running (Terrance Gore). The other position player on the bubble is infielder Gavin Lux, who replaced Ríos in the NLDS and struck out in his only at-bat against San Diego.

The five 40-man roster pitchers not on the NLDS roster were Scott Alexander, Dennis Santana, Josh Sborz, Mitch White and Alex Wood.

Worth noting
• Roberts said Kiké Hernández would be in the starting lineup in Game 1 against Braves left-hander Max Fried. That implies AJ Pollock or Chris Taylor will serve as the designated hitter.

Mookie's mom gives back
While her son is trying to help the Dodgers win the World Series, Mookie Betts’ mom is trying to help parents and coaches promote sports for girls the way she did for her son.

Diana Collins, mother of the Dodgers' superstar, spoke to 300 Dodgers Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities coaches on Thursday via Zoom as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation’s Girls Coaching Series, a four-part initiative sponsored by Nike.

Collins shared tips for parents and coaches gained from her own experience as her son’s first coach. The series is based on the Made to Play Coaching Girls Guide and is aimed at ensuring safe spaces and a welcoming team culture for girls as part of LADF’s existing Dodgers RBI Virtual Coaches Training, also in partnership with Nike.

Among the messages she shared: sports are an option even if the child is undersized, as Betts was; that girls can play every sport a boy can play; and that to play sports, a child must do well in school.

Dodgers RBI partner, We Coach, will also participate in the training supporting LADF’s goal to attract female coaches and provide them with the training they need, as a key step to getting more girls in the game. Training topics will include what girls want from their experiences, such as the need for and impact of representation, coaches who create connection, the opportunity to compete and a supportive environment in which being brave is more important than being perfect.