MLB: After catastrophe game: L.A. relies on unlucky bird of chance

The Los Angeles Dodgers are holding on to Catcher Yasmani Grandal. After his catastrophic appearance in game 1 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, he was still sitting outside in game 2, but is now supposed to start again in game 3.

The reason for not playing Grandal in game 2 was that manager Dave Roberts wanted to see Austin Barnes as the catcher of starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers won the game 4-3.

“Grandal will play Monday,” said Roberts on Sunday. “He has caught many innings of Walker Buehler and we like this combination. We also like him in the lineup against Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin. He was very successful against right-handed hitters.” Grandal is Switch-Hitter and will start against Chacin from the left side.

Grandal is 2-17 with seven strikeouts in the postseason up to here. In game 1 of the ALCS, which lost L.A. with 5:6, he had a particularly weak appearance. He afforded two Errors and had two Passed Balls within the first three innings of the game.

This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.