Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler tosses the ball after giving up a two-run home run to San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey during the first inning at Oracle Park on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 in San Francisco, CA. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Walker Buehler will be the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting pitcher Tuesday night in a must-win Game 4 of the National League Division Series against San Francisco.
The Dodgers are on the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series after their second shutout loss in three games against the Giants.
Buehler will be pitching on three days rest for the first time in his five-season major league career. The right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings in the Dodgers' 4-0 loss Friday in Game 1.
The Dodgers made the announcement of their Game 4 starter via Twitter at 11:39 a.m., tweeting "Buehler's day on.
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Manager Dave Roberts was asked in a post-game news conference after Monday's 1-0 loss who would get the start in Tuesday night's game.
"I think we got to circle up as a group," he said. "What I will say is that everything's on the table.''
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Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will start for San Francisco, manager Gabe Kapler said. DeSclafani was 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in the regular season, including an 0-3 record and 7.33 ERA in six starts against the Dodgers.
The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 1-0 victory Monday night on Evan Longoria's home run leading off the fifth inning. On a windy night, the Dodgers were limited to five singles by four pitchers, including two who pitched for the Dodgers in 2020, starter Alex Wood and reliever Jake McGee.
Of the 42 division series since 1995 that were tied after two games, the team that won Game 3 went on to win the series 31 times, 73.8%, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of Major League Baseball.
The loss was the Dodgers' first when Max Scherzer started for them. They were 11-0 in his regular-season starts after they acquired him in a July 30 six-player trade with the Washington Nationals.
The Dodgers also won Wednesday's NL wild-card game against the St. Louis Cardinals, which Scherzer started.
The loss also ended LA's 16-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers concluded the regular season with a franchise-record 15-game home winning streak, then won the wild-card game, also at Dodger Stadium.
