Dodgers Opt To Start Ex-Red Sox Reliever In Do-Or-Die Game 4 Vs. Padres

The Los Angeles Dodgers, on the brink of elimination in their National League Division Series with the San Diego Padres, have placed their faith in ex-Boston Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier to start Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Brasier getting the nod in a do-or-die contest is shocking enough, but for the Dodgers to place the fate of their season in the hands of a relief pitcher is out-of-this-world ridiculous. Los Angeles flexed its wallets during the offseason by spending a whopping $1.2 billion in free agent acquisitions including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and others — all to lean on Brasier, a 37-year-old veteran who made 29 appearances out of the bullpen this season for the Dodgers, including four starts.

San Diego has outscored Los Angeles, 21-15, with very few playoff moments coming from the star-studded Dodgers crew. Ohtani has gone 3-for-13 with three RBIs and six strikeouts, Mookie Betts is hitting 3-for-10 in the series and Freddie Freeman has only contributed three singles in 11 at-bats. Los Angeles waited at the worst possible time for its pitching and hitting to get outshined by the less-expensive Padres who’ve snagged all the momentum needed to send the Dodgers to the offseason in Game 4.

Long story short, LA’s brightest have dimmed down in October so it’ll be up to Brasier, a 2018 World Series champion, to get the Dodgers off to a strong season-saving start to extend the series to a winner-take-all- Game 5.

Brasier went 1-0 in the regular season with a 3.54 ERA. In an opening role, the right-hander logged a 2.25 ERA while holding opponents to a humbling .143 batting average. The biggest challenge, however, comes with Braiser going up against a red-hot Padres lineup and a reliable arm in 14-game winner Dylan Cease.

With 19 postseason appearances under his belt, Brasier enters the critical battle with a career 4.15 ERA in the playoffs, having struck out 19 batters in 17 1/3 innings thrown.