Though still riding off the high of their dramatic walkoff victory in Game 1, the Los Angeles Dodgers are already positioning the chess pieces for the remainder of the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that righty Walker Buehler will draw the start for Game 3 in New York on Monday. As such, the Dodgers will have a bullpen game for Game 4 of the World Series and Buehler would then be able to come back and start in a potential Game 7 (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN).
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is starting Game 2 for the Dodgers on Saturday and thus he will also be able to pitch in a possible Game 6 of the World Series next Friday on his customary five days of rest. Meanwhile, Jack Flaherty, who had started Game 1 on Friday, would then be in line to start for the Dodgers in a potential Game 5 next Wednesday.
Giving the ball to Buehler in a winner-take-all Game 7 would definitely be a risk for the Dodgers as he battled through injury and ineffectiveness during the regular season, posting a 5.38 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP over 16 total starts.
But Buehler appears to have made a change to his mechanics in the playoffs and has now earned enough trust from the Dodgers to get both Game 3 and a possible Game 7 for them.