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The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants play a win-or-go home contest on Thursday evening, and LA is making a curious decision for starting pitcher. The team announced that relief pitcher Corey Knebel will get the start in Game 5, according to Jorge Castillo.
Knebel pitched an inning of relief against the Giants in Game 2, a game started by Julio Urias. The expectation was that Urias would get the start in this elimination game. Given Urias is a lefty, it’s possible the Dodgers thinking starting the righty Knebel will force the Giants to make some unwanted adjustments to their lineup. Of course, the Giants know Knebel will only pitch one or two innings, so they could look to just ride it out.
Knebel struck out two in his inning of work in Game 2. Prior to that he struck out the one Cardinals batter he faced in the Wild Card game. In 2021, Knebel 4-0 with three saves and 30 strikeouts over 25.2 innings pitched. He struck out 30 and walked nine in that span.
The Giants will be starting Logan Webb in Thursday’s game. San Francisco is a slim -115 favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook. LA is a -105 underdog.