The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to avoid elimination Friday evening when they face the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.
Rookie right-hander Dustin May will start for the Dodgers. May has not allowed a run in his 4 2/3 innings in the 2020 postseason.
Left-handed reliever A.J. Minter will start for the Braves, making his first professional start after 216 regular-season appearances in the major and minor leagues, all in relief.
Minter will become the first pitcher in major league history to make his first career start in the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The 27-year-old last started a game in 2015, making four starts during his junior season at Texas A&M, going 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA.
Minter was 1-0 with a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 innings in 22 appearances during the regular season. His most recent appearance was in Atlanta’s 8-7 victory in Game 2 Tuesday, throwing 10 pitches in two-thirds of an inning, facing three batters, allowing one hit, a three-run home run by Corey Seager.
The Dodgers fell behind three games to one in the best-of-seven series with their 10-2 loss Thursday. Atlanta scored six runs in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Rookie right-hander Bryse Wilson limited the Dodgers to one hit over the first six innings, a third-inning solo homer by Edwin Rios. The Dodgers were held to two hits and a run over the final three innings by four Braves relievers.
Of the 87 MLB teams that trailed a best-of-seven series three games to one through the 2019 World Series, 13 have rallied to win, most recently the Chicago Cubs over the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series.
This is the 10th time the Dodgers have trailed a postseason series three games to one. They have never overcome that deficit.
The series is being played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The final three rounds of baseball’s postseason are being played at neutral sites in an attempt to reduce the possibility of spreading the coronavirus.