Dave Roberts names Walker Buehler as Game 3 starter and backs him up with great commentary

The Los Angeles Dodgers leave LA with the NLCS tied at 1-1 with the New York Mets. They hosted a bullpen game for Game 2 on Monday night; Ryan Braiser immediately gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor and Landon Knack was completely dismantled after an intentional walk to Lindor and a grand slam to Mark Vientos. The Dodgers put up three runs on a home run by Max Muncy and a two-run single by Tommy Edman, but were 2 for 15 at the top of the lineup.

But it was a loss that Dave Roberts seemed happy to accept. He labeled Knack, Anthony Banda (who pitched one inning to Knack's two), Brent Honeywell (three innings) and Edgardo Henriquez (two) as innings eaters and indicated that he wanted to save his best relievers for later games in the series. Interesting, but okay.

In Game 3, the Dodgers return to the rotation; During Game 2, it was confirmed that Walker Buehler would get the ball in the Dodgers' first game at Citi Field.

We all remember how Buehler's performance in Game 3 of the NLDS went, and the Dodgers will hope that the defensive disaster behind him doesn't repeat itself.

The Dodgers officially name Walker Buehler their NLCS Game 3 starter

Buehler managed five innings against the Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS, but the second inning was a failure of epic proportions on all fronts, with chances for two double plays that both fell short and a two-run home run by Fernando Tatis Jr San Diego went up by five runs almost immediately. The defense (especially Miguel Rojas) just couldn't have his back, but he still had six earned runs and a 10.80 ERA in his first appearance.

But the Dodgers still have faith in Buehler. Dave Roberts said of his last outing: “We didn't play good defense behind him, but I was really happy to see him come out of that situation knowing he threw the baseball really well. He kept us in the game. Gave us three big innings.”

Max Muncy also gave a convincing endorsement: “I don’t care about Walker’s numbers – I’ll always bet on this guy in situations like this. He's the guy you want on the mound in a big situation. You just know it's his.” When he's out there, his heartbeat won't waver at all. I've seen him in several big games for us and every time he delivers.

Let's hope they're both right. Even if Roberts wouldn't have minded taking a loss in Game 2, it shouldn't become a trend.