Dodgers Will Start Corey Knebel In Thursday's Decisive Game 5

SAN FRANCISCO, CA —The Los Angeles Dodgers announced late Thursday morning that pitcher Corey Knebel would start tonight's decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.

The righty Knebel, usually a reliever, will open the game instead of lefty Julio Urias, who had been scheduled to start in the contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at San Francisco's Oracle Park. The game will be broadcast on TBS.

Juan Toribio of MLB.com called the Knebel move "a shocker," but said that, according to his sources, the decision was made based on strategy and not because of Urias being injured.

Toribio said Knebel likely would serve as an opener, and that Urias, who went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA during the regular season and is 1-0 in this series, likely will pitch at some point in the game.

The move may be a bit of gamesmanship by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, or at the very least a strategy designed to force a change in the righty/lefty construction of the Giants batting order, according to observers.

It was Roberts who - using a football comparison - had said the rivals knew one another so well, that there were unlikely to be any secrets or surprises in the game.

"I think the playbook is kind of we know each other's playbook, so now it just goes to old school, we're going to run the ball to the right and you're going to have to stop us and it's the Vince Lombardi (approach)," Roberts had said ahead of the contest. "So it's like we're going to play, we know what we do, they know what we do, we know who they want to have the baseball in Game 5, they know who we want and the matchups that we're trying to get, now it's about going out there and executing and the best team wins."

But Thursday's move almost certainly will have come as a surprise to Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

The Giants and Dodgers were the two best teams during Major League Baseball's regular season -winning 107 games (Giants) and 106 games (Dodgers) respectively - and were separated by just one game in the National League West Division standings. They are tied 2-2 in this series.

Thursday will be the 24th meeting of the season between the teams. The Giants have won 12 of the those matchups, the Dodgers 11.

Knebel made 27 regular-season appearances for the Dodgers in 2021, all but four of them out of the bullpen. He went 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA. San Francisco will counter with the righty Logan Webb, who was 11-3 with a 3.03 ERA during the regular season and is 1-0 in this series.

The winner of tonight's game will face the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, which begins Saturday. The Braves defeated the Milwaukee Brewers three games to two in the other National League Division Series.

If the Giants win tonight, they will host the Braves for the first two games of the NLCS. If the Dodgers prevail over the Giants, they will play the first two games of the NLCS in Atlanta.

Before that, it's the Giants and Dodgers taking center stage in the Bay Area.

"This is what baseball wants," Roberts said . "We're going to be the only show in town. If you have a pulse or you're a sports fan, you better be watching Dodgers-Giants."