Dodgers look to capitalize on home-field advantage vs Blue Jays in World Series
LOS ANGELES AP The Los Angeles Dodgers have the Toronto Blue Jays right where they want them in the World Series at home for three games in three days Tied - the best-of-seven series resumes Monday night when the Dodgers will be backed by their raucous fans in a bid to become the first unit to win consecutive championships since the New York Yankees won three from - The Dodgers beat the Yankees in New York last year for their eighth World Series title The only one they won at home was at Dodger Stadium in Twenty hours after walking off the field under the closed roof at Rogers Centre the Blue Jays worked out at Dodger Stadium on Sunday under hazy skies that obscured the San Gabriel Mountains They arrived at their hotel at a m Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn t make it to the stadium until p m after flight delays Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer starts Championship for the Blue Jays at years days They re hoping he can replicate his outing in Championship of the American League Championship Series when Scherzer held the Seattle Mariners to two runs over innings Obviously with age you don t have the same stuff I know they don t have the same leash on him as he used to have Roberts revealed But man he s still a great competitor It s still going to be a tough test for us regardless because he wants to beat us really bad Dodger fans have their own memory of Scherzer and it s not a good one Scheduled to start for Los Angeles in Battle of the NLCS he was a late scratch because of arm fatigue The Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves that night and were eliminated I wouldn t be looking backwards at all for any motivation Scherzer reported I have plenty of motivation I m here to win and I ve got a clubhouse full of guys who want to win too Scherzer and Shane Bieber who will start Tournament will become the eighth duo of former Cy Young winners to start consecutive World Series games for a association the Elias Sports Bureau stated Tyler Glasnow starts Monday for the Dodgers a gang he rooted for while growing up about miles away in Santa Clarita He s allowed one run and seven hits with strikeouts eight walks and a ERA in three appearances this postseason It s very sentimental and amazing he commented but I think that s kind of something I ll look back on more and focus on and really feel the feelings of it maybe when this is all done I m just trying to go to work and do well Toronto played three road games in three days in the ALCS against Seattle The Blue Jays won the first two and lost the third and they won in seven games to earn their first World Series trip since Starting pitching is going to be central for both sides and guys that can throw multiple innings are going to be key in these next three days Blue Jays manager John Schneider stated But I think especially against this club you want to try to wear down their starters and get into their pen The Dodgers bullpen had a ERA in September third-worst in the NL that month Their relievers blew multiple late leads and allowed home runs Los Angeles got critical length out of starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Championship when he became the first pitcher since Mike Clevinger in to throw consecutive complete games at any point and the first in the postseason since Curt Schilling in There had not been one in the World Series since It starts with the starters going deeper Roberts declared Three in a row is very vital to vary reliever looks and kind of get the optimum matchups that you can Roberts announced he plans to limit hard-throwing rookie Roki Sasaki s usage to the ninth inning Scherzer s performance has tapered off in latest years as he s battled injuries But he remains as intense as ever and Schneider was reminded of it during their fiery exchange when he visited the mound in Scherzer s ALCS start I m going to try to avoid any mound visits with Max the subsequent day he noted Bo s back to starting Toronto s Bo Bichette will start at second base on Monday He grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of a - loss in Challenge and stayed in the contest at second Felt good coming out of the previous 24 hours Schneider reported I think with each day that goes on he ll likely get as close to normal as he can at this stage of the year Bichette is a two-time All-Star shortstop and Friday s opener was his first time at second base since a meeting at Triple-A in He went for with a walk in an - win in Challenge his first action since spraining his knee on Sept against the Yankees I have such respect for him because he s changing positions right now at this stage where everything is really significant reported Toronto s Andr s Gim nez who previously switched from second to shortstop He s showing that he can play second at a good level He proved you the other day with the backhand play that was really intricate AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source
