As the Los Angeles Dodgers face a win-or-go-home situation in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, manager Dave Roberts has elected to turn to reliever Joe Kelly to start the game. This will be Kelly's seventh appearance of the postseason and his overall first start of the entire season.
Joe Kelly will start Game 5 tonight.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 21, 2021
Kelly has notched three appearances in this series. Braves hitters have had little success in going up against Kelly and his notable curveball as overall, the veteran reliever has recorded four strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched.
For now, it is not known on Roberts' plan for this apparent bullpen game against Atlanta and whether the likes of Max Scherzer or Walker Buehler may be available out of the bullpen for at least an inning of work.
The Braves are just coming off of a bullpen game of their own in Game 4 of the series. Braves manager Brian Snitker used six relievers in the contest, including both Drew Smyly and A.J. Minter. The two each notched over one inning recorded in the 9-2 win.
In the big picture, the Dodgers sure need their bats to provide any kind of spark against Braves starter Max Fried today. Los Angeles is just coming off of a Game 4 loss where the team finished a mere 1-2 in at-bats with runners in scoring position.
The Dodgers are aiming to pull off a 3-1 NLCS comeback win against Atlanta for the second consecutive season.
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