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Credit…David Zalubowski / Associated press“Listen, this isn’t rocket science. You’ve seen guys with that kind of role towards the end of their careers. I know that I am no longer the player I once was. I think everyone knows that. But I think I can still contribute.
Albert Pujols
LOS ANGELES – It was a packed house, a big time and baseball was going skyward in a straight line around October. Albert Pujols looked in a uniform he never imagined wearing from a place he never imagined he would be. It was teammate Corey Seager’s two-point explosion that ignited the roar that capped a night out in Los Angeles last week. And there was Pujols, in the Dodgers dugout, leading the cheers.
Once, when it was known as The Machine, Pujols ordered his own running projector. Those big moments now mostly belong to others, with Pujols focusing on what is usually a strategically placed night-time plate appearance against a left-handed reliever.
The Dodgers signed Pujols in May, four days after his unceremonious release from the Los Angeles Angels and in the final season of a 10-year, $ 240 million contract. In his very specific role, he thrived beyond expectations, crushing lefties for a .306 batting average and ending the season with 12 homers and 38 RBIs for the Dodgers.
His teammates rave about his joie de vivre. And now, a man who once ruled the October for St. Louis is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 – and his first test will be on Wednesday against his beloved Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. His frustrating ending with the Angels is erased from the story.
With Max Muncy out of the roster after dislocating his left elbow in Sunday’s season finale against Milwaukee, the Dodgers decided to start southpaw Matt Beaty on first base, to use Cody’s defensive skills. Bellinger in the middle of the field and leave Albert Pujols as a striking weapon. the bench in Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis.
“It starts with who’s on the mound,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, referring to his own ace, Max Scherzer.
Roberts noted that Scherzer is a “high hitting guy” and that St. Louis lineup included a “high volume of right handed bats.” So, Roberts said, defense in centerfield and at first base was important and that he expected most of the ground balls the Cardinals hitters put into play would be on the left side of the infield, where the veteran stalwarts. Corey Seager (shortstop) and Justin Turner (third base) will wait.
With their 106-game winning season on the line in a knockout game, the Dodgers will have Max Scherzer on the hill. He’s a 37-year-old man with three Cy Young Awards, but in this pitcher game he qualifies as the youngster. Opposite him will be Adam Wainwright, 40, who won his first World Series ring while Scherzer was still in college.
The successful game would have been difficult to predict at the start of the year, as Wainwright had faced injury and decline in recent years, and Scherzer was firmly anchored with the Washington Nationals. But the two veterans have proven to be absolutely dominant this season, making tonight’s game a must-see even beyond the incredibly high stakes.
For Wainwright, a five-year period of injuries and inconsistencies has finally been lifted in the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic. His solid work in 10 starts last year has continued this season, his best overall since 2014, going 17-7, ERA of 3.05 and 174 strikeouts.
For Scherzer, a trade on July 30 offered a chance to go from champion status to potential champion as well. After the trade, he returned to his best form, going 7-0 in 11 starts for Los Angeles with a 1.98 ERA and 89 strikeouts in just 68⅓ innings. He even got his 3,000th strikeout of his career in style flirting with a perfect game. The Dodgers have won every game he started.
Wainwright beat the Dodgers in his only start against them in 2021, allowing four earned runs in eight and a third inning of a 5-4 win on September 8. Scherzer has faced the Cardinals twice, once with the Nationals and once with the Dodgers, and beat them both times, allowing no earned runs in 14 innings of work.
One entered the season as the defending champion and repeat betting favorite. The other wasn’t a playoff lock until the final weeks of the season. But two legendary National League franchises, which have combined to create 18 mind-boggling World Series titles, will go head-to-head in a wild card game that will propel one of them into a league division series and send the other at home licking his wounds and wondering what could have been.
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Who: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
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What: The National League wild card game
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When: 8:10 p.m. EST
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Or: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
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Why: A place in a league division series against the San Francisco Giants to 107 wins
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TV: TBS
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Diffusion: Various services such as Sling, Hulu Live, and FuboTV will broadcast the TBS stream, which is also available through TBS.com and the TBS app.
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