The San Francisco Giants have named Logan Webb the starter for Game 1 of the NLDS this Friday, when the team will host either the Los Angeles Dodgers or St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants were deliberating between Webb and Kevin Gausman for the postseason opener, and while I didn’t expect an announcement until Friday, it doesn’t really put the team at a disadvantage to announce the move now.
Logan Webb will start Game 1 of the NLDS. Kevin Gausman will go Game 2.
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) October 6, 2021
With days off on Sunday and Wednesday, we know that both Webb and Gausman will be available for a potential Game 5, which would take place on Thursday, Oct. 14. It seems likely that Webb would start that game as well, though it may depend on how they do in their first starts of the series.
While Gabe Kapler revealed the Game 1 starter, he said the team is undecided on who the Game 3 starter is, which likely means Alex Wood would get the start should the Dodgers win the NL Wild Card game tonight, whereas DeSclafani would take the bump if the Cardinals win.
Kapler says opponent might come into play for Game 3 starter, and the logical conclusion there is LH Wood the likely choice vs. LA and DeSclafani vs. STL.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 6, 2021
While the Dodgers have been essentially equal against lefties and righties (.757 OPS for the former vs. .759 against the latter), the Cards have been substantially better against lefties (.798 OPS vs. .706), with all nine of their most-frequently used batters hitting from the right side (seven righties and two switch-hitters).
That likely makes DeSclafani an easy choice vs. St. Louis, while Wood becomes an easy choice against LA due to DeSclafani’s struggles against the Dodgers this season (27 innings, 33 hits, 15 walks, 6 home runs, 22 earned runs). If LA wins the Wild Card Game, there’s a chance the Giants might go with a bullpen game, or even a Johnny Cueto start for Game 4, though having a short leash with Disco is more likely.