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Dodgers Playoff Baseball is back, and with it an annual postseason tradition, scam is back.
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Dodger legend Steve Sacks is joined by your favorite Dodger pregame host Tim Kates. If you want to talk Dodgers, get in on the show on eighty six six nine eighty seven two five seven now. While the Dan Patrick Show streams on the iHeartRadio app.
We've been banished to the Internet until this Dodgers playoff run concludes. Here they are broadcasting live on AM five seven e LA Sports. It's Tim Kates and Steve sachs Ah.
I got a feeling it's gonna be a good Tuesday here in southern California. Sax and Kate's and am lean you up to Game three of the NLDS Dodgers and Padres. He is Steve Sacks, two time World Series Champion, Rookie of the Year, What a hell of a guy, my favorite number three. My wife loves Chris Chris Taylor, but I'm a Steve Sas guy when it comes down to it.
Right on, Tim, We're here in for Dan Patrick.
You can listen to DP and the Boys on the iHeartRadio app. We are Live and local. Lean you up to Dodgers and Padres. First pitch at six oh wait Marongo Casino. Dodgers on Deck starts at five o'clock this afternoon, Walker Bueller and Michael King the pitching matchup and what is gonna be a must win Game three s Taxi. In my opinion, you got to get this one tonight.
Yeah. Well, I have been working on some of my some of my music, trying to get the words to rhyme. Let me see if you like this. Okay, okay, we could use this as what do you call it? Anyway? So I got a feeling after tonight we won't be squealing because we're gonna be dealing. That's That's like the first segment of my news Little Poetry, Little Poetry. Yeah, okay, yeah, we'll right through them. We won't be squealing because we're going to be dealing. I like that. Yeah, So that's
the start. I'll give you the rest later.
Okay.
Well, speaking of dealing, the Dodgers are going to need Walker Buehler to be dealing tonight in Game three. He has had an up and down twenty twenty four coming back from Tommy John surgery, his second of his career. And here's Walker Buehler talking to the media last night.
You know, the past month and a half or so, I felt pretty good and kind of got more into a routine, and I think being able to go on regular rest helped at least mentally. Knowing that you can can do that, I think is a step.
Forward for me.
And now all that stuff is kind of behind us, and now all that really matters his innings in the runs and trying to keep us in the game. So yeah, this time of year is just a little bit different and kind of, at least for me, time to kind of leave what happened in the regular season behind. For me, that the first inning has been huge this year. Obviously I've struggled in the first inning, but the games that I've gotten through the first play have typically been pretty
pretty successful outings for me. So yeah, getting three outs to the bottom in the first will will be huge for me. Yeah, I want to try and go make a quality start and put our team in a position to win the game.
And how much pride do you take in being labeled a big game pitcher kind of the.
Only thing I care about.
Yeah, Walker Bueller, he is ready to go for Game three, Saxy. This is a Walker Bueller who going back to twenty eighteen, he pitched in the game one sixty three, the playoff or the division deciding one sixty three against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium, and he was huge in winning that game, and that was really to me, his burst on the scene moment. In twenty eighteen. He was part of the twenty twenty World Series team and pitched so well twenty twenty when he made thirty three starts, had an ER
under two fifty, a sixteen game winner. Then he got hurt again in twenty twenty two, missed all of twenty twenty three. Comes back this year late at a little stagger's start to make sure he's able to go out of the gate, and has really struggled one in six of they five thirty eight era, But he pitched better down the stretch and hopefully catches that momentum here into the postseason.
Yeah, better down the stretch, and that's something he can take into tonight's game. And also, you know it's imperative that he pitches well for his offseason and his rehab going into next year. That's why you know he can stack that all up and say there's many, many reasons why we have to see the Walker Bueler continue what
he did in his last outing. I mean, this is one of the things I had in the keys to the success tonight is Walker Bueler to shut these guys down early and not let the fans get involved in the game. And Walker pointed that out bottom of the first we got to have a shutdown inning in that particular one, and I think he's absolutely right. Do not let the fans get involved in this game because it can be a very kind of intimidating type of an
atmosphere down there in pet Goo. So I think if Walker gets off to a good start, shuts him down in the standing, and then gets that momentum to carry on through, they're gonna be okay.
The twenty twenty four season for Walker Viewer has been like a roller coaster ride, and I don't think it's physical saxy. I think it's more mechanics and probably mental, And you can tell me I'm completely wrong, but I kind of feel like he was searching for his old mechanics, and maybe he was trying to compensate and not wanting to get hurt again, or maybe mentally worried that his mechanics were going to get him hurt again, so maybe trying to change things up a little bit and maybe
not knowing it. And he didn't have the same results and had a couple of stints on the IL, and they were more stints on the IL saxy not to get physically right because he was good. It was more of get away from the game. He went and saw another pitching person down in Florida to help him through his mechanics, and just he was just trying to get right.
You know, looking for a feel. That's what he's looking for. And I've read up in some of his Not to cut you off to him, sorry, but but that's that's kind of what it is. And I talked to many many pitchers. Is the same thing as hitters is they're looking for that feel. Once they get that feel and then you can put everything on the shelf. It's just I'm gonna go by what it feels like and then the mechanics fall into place. But he's trying to get to that point where it's just you know, natural, and
he doesn't have to think about it too much. And when you get to that point, you're on autopilot. Now it just comes naturally. And once he finds that, and maybe we found maybe he has found a little bit of that start to tick up in his arsenal, because in his last outing a couple ODIs, especially the last one he was good. Yeah, and once you start to get that field, boom, you're there.
Yeah, I look at you know, two of the last three outings that he made in Atlanta on a Sunday, when six innings, allowed two runs on three hits, struck out five. He also walked five. All right, it was a little bit of the command issue there. He had through ninety seven pitches, so he's throwing more pitches now, which is good. He's cranked up. And then he made a start and call against the Colorado Rockies where struck out nine. But it's the Rockies late and September.
It's okay, still still counts sure.
Then the last start he made was that Thursday, clinching night at Dodger Stadium, the final game of the three game series against the Padres, the last home game of the regular season. He went the five innings, one run, five hits, only one run, earned, only one walk, only one strikeout, and he had eleven ground balls.
That's good.
In that outing he threw seventy one pitches, didn't need to do a lot out, there was a fishing which was perfect, didn't get to forty pitches.
And two innings.
Not stressful.
Yeah, and it could be something that he could build on because that confidence. I mean, if man, if they can just get Walker Buehler from three years ago back to that form, this is a shot in the arm that they didn't probably expect they'd get.
Yeah, Tim, Look, okay, one strikeout you mentioned in that outing, that's that's fine. Seventy one pitches. Look, not a stressful event for him. He would much. I think Walker Buehler wants to light up, you know, the scoreboard with all the strikeouts like everybody else. But if you could ask him, hey, can you can you go through a game strike out A couple of guys have a ton of ground balls, a great efficiency with the lack of pitches that you're
throwing out there and still getting the outs. Absolutely, you know, two or three pitches per at bat instead of going you know, four or five pitches to strike a guy out. He'd much rather do that. That's that's that's the art of efficiency right there. So I think if tonight we can get a Walker Buller, look here's what I really thought about it. We're gonna need six or seven in thes for Walker Buller. One or two runs will take it. Dodgers will win that game, no question.
I give credit to Dave Roberts and maybe this coaching staff in front office for sticking with Walker Buehler because a young man, and I say young man he's thirty now, I mean he grew up in this organization since he was a former number one first round pick, to stick with him through to Tommy John surgeries, to believe in him still this year, when when Saxy, I'll be honest with you, doing postgame Dodger talking and talk radio every day,
five days a week, Dodger fans were riding off Walker Bueller. I mean his starts in May and early June where he's given up seven earned runs in Colorado to the Rockies and walking guys left and right, and didn't know if he'd get back to this form. Fans wrote him off.
Whether they'll say it or not. I think they did, and a lot of the media starting to question whether or not he should be given another opportunity, and well, certainly, and once we get to October, no way, Walker Bueller could be a part of this rotation now they need him, yes, and he's regained that form.
And I give a lot of credit.
So I don't know if it's Dave Roberts or Mark pryor the pitching coach, or Connor McGinnis, the assistant pitching coach, or if it's Andrew Freeman at the top and Brandon Gomes a GM say no, no, no, no, we're gonna ride with him. He'll figure it out. I don't know who made that call, but credit to them for sticking with.
Him, all of them. I think all of them had to say in it. And look, if you know Walker Bueller and met him, you'd put your money on this guy because he's a quality human being. I had a chance to talk to him for a little bit earlier this year down in the locker room. He looks good. I mean, Walker Bueler is thirty, but he didn't look it. He looks like he's about twenty six. And he takes care of himself. And he's a really good person. He's gonna do everything right to get back into that position
to be successful. And so yeah, you got to bet on a guy like that. You got a lot invested in Walker too, and as a as a human being, that's that's what they're really counting.
On as an athlete and a professional athlete, Saxual. You know, you start getting into your career, maybe your game has to change a little.
Bit and you've got to evolve.
It evolves absolutely, and I think he got to a point in his career. The injury is certainly played a part of it, because you've got to change because of a second Tommy John and an injury, and the physics will just tell you you're not gonna probably throw a hundred again because his second Tommy John surgery. You've got to become more of a quote unquote pitcher, yeah, rather than just a hard throwing guy that can pump ninety eight
and to break off a curveball and boom, you are nasty. Well, he's had to figure out how to pitch.
And if he can get to a point where he can ratchet that back a little bit, you know, save some of that petro on his arm, but go out and get ninety seven ninety eight if he needs it at certain times. Pitchers, when they get to that point, now they're really going because they don't have to throw as hard as they can all the time. But if they really need to hump it up a little bit in certain situations, they can go and get that.
It's funny you say that because John Smoltz said it on the broadcast a couple of days ago, and they did a whole little graphic about what we know the Dodger injuries to the pitching staff and guys from Tony Gonsolin to Clayton Kershaw to Tyler Glass now and Gavin Stone, all these injuries that have hit the Dodgers this year. Seventeen different starting pitchers, forty different pitchers pitched on all
for the Dodgers. We know the numbers. But John Smoltz said, you know what, We're gonna have to get to a point in baseball, and it starts at the top, and it's gonna trickle down to the kids. Stop trying to throw as hard as you can.
All the time.
Pitch a little bit, yeah, throw it, take a little bit off the fastball. You don't have to pump ninety one hundred every single pitch in April, May, June, July, August, September, and then get to October and still try to do the same thing. It's okayanna throw ninety two ninety three and pitch over in a course of one hundred and sixty two game season, and then crank it up in the posts.
Sure, tim Pitching is the art of deception, and if you can just make that, make that timing off just a fraction doesn't take much, then you're gonna be able to get guys out. And so if you're just pumping Cheddar the whole time and you're really relying on ninety eight all the time, hitters will turn up that dial and if it's not, if it's not in a certain spot, they'll turn that around. That's I always thought that velocity was probably the least important of the three components of pitching.
You know, of velocity, movement and location. And you know, if you can just you know, spot the ball, you know where you want a little bit of movement here and there, take a little on, put a little off, that type of thing, you'll get guys out and then go ahead and use that you know that burner when you need to get it. So that's John's listen. If he's saying it, I'm believing it, and he's right.
Absolutely, Walker Buehler gets the start tonight. Dodger fans, if Walker Buehler can give you what he's giving you down the stretch, you have to have confidence in the right hand or The Dodgers saw him over the course of the season go up and down, struggle with his mechanics. But you gotta feel good about where he's at right now at this point.
Of the season.
Eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy. The Dodgers need to wake up the bats. Mookie Betts needs to figure it out. Dodgers need to get right tonight and the must win Game three of this NLDS.
How about a blowout.
I'm about a blowout in Petco.
Shut up that crowd in San Diego. Put them on their butts early. They want to be involved, they want to stand, they want to be loud. Nothing better, nothing better than to put up some runs early and force them to sit down and take those handkerchiefs out of their hands. Eight sixty six ninety seven two five seventy.
We'll get into.
Mookie Betts his struggles, Kenny turn it around? How hard is he trying to get out of this slump. We'll go around Major League Baseball as well, lost to get into your phone calls next eight sixty six, nine eighty seven two five seventy. It's a rivalry where you think it is or not it is, And now they're throwing baseballs at Dave Roberts in between innings eight six six, nine eighty seven two five seventy saxon Kate's in the am an FI seventy ELI Sports. You hear his walk
up music, Freddy Freeman, will he play it tonight? We'll find out. Sprain ride Ankle give it a go. In Game one, stole the bass. Game two came out in the fifth inning. It's getting treatment around the clock. We'll find out if he's good to go when the starting lineup comes out a few hours before first pitch Dodgers Padres. It's sax and Kate's am here on AI seventy LA Sports coming up later on this hour, We're gonna go around a little Major League Baseball whip around what's happening
in the other three nlds and alds series. Next hour, David Vets say, our Dodger insider will join us from San Diego. Steven Nelson, played by a play voice of the Dodgers calling the games here in the NLDS on ANFI seventy LA Sports will join us. We're gonna get into Mookie Betts in a second, talking a lot about Walker Bueller this hour, Saxon and the need to have Bueller be buletaining as he calls himself, and have a
great outing tonight. Individually. I guess he also wants to make sure he has a good outing because this is a guy going into free agency. He's a thirty year old looking to strike in free agency with a big deal. Certainly his arm is a question to Tommy John Surgery's the up and down twenty twenty four season. The results aren't there, but for him, he would love to go
out of this season on a high note. Certainly with the championship maybe, but certainly individually pitching well going into a free agency.
Yes, and he could call himself Bueller, the high octane fueler that love that. That might be a good one. So yeah, I mean he's got can you imagine he's got so much on his plate. Yeah, he's got the the you know as we are now with the with the playoffs and trying to get through these Padres, and he's got a lot to prove in his own mind. I'm sure he's thinking, I'm going to show that my arm is sound. I'm coming back, I can feel it again and I'm there. And you know, on top of
that beating the Padres. And after all this is done, then he's going to have to think about, you know, what's going to be going on in the free agent market. I mean, there's there's so much going on in his world right now. He's got to really be the professional, separate all this stuff and just really hone in on what's going on tonight and beating the San Diego Padres. That's it and it's not easy to do. And he
goes to a human being. He's got his family life, he's got you know, it's it's a lot in his world right now. But he's going to be a professional. He's going to put all that side and he's going to be central on beating this Padre team in a very hostile environment. But he can do it.
With that all being said, I'm going to add this to something else. He has to deal with the report that came out late last night in more coming out this morning, that recently he and his wife were at Santa Anita Park and were robbed by a mob of people who surrounded Walker Bueller and his wife McKenzie, and someone unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and took his one hundred thousand dollars watch from him before they ran off.
Oh my god, I didn't. I didn't.
I'm just finding out about this in the last ten minutes and reading a report on ABC seven here in Los Angeles and being picked up. Both he and his wife were fine. It's unclear when the incident occurred. It was initially thought that occurred over the weekend. Now, he grew up in Loxington. Of course he owns horse racing or horses that races in Kentucky, and then he's got a horse out here. I believe it's Santa Anita. Got
ties to Bob Bafford and training horses. He had part ownership in a race horse that was part of the Kentucky Derby in twenty twenty. So he's into horse racing. He's from Lexington and so at some point recently he was out at San Diniito Park and as ABC seven is reporting, Walker Buehler was approached by a mob of people, surrounded him and his wife and was robbed of his watch or they took off.
Unreal tim Now, look, we saw what happened recently too to Ricky Pearsall, the first round pick of the forty nine ers shot in the chest. Lucky he's alive, and they stole his watch after he was leaving a signing event. Yeah, and that was in that was right in Ghara Delly Square near garaed Delly Square in San Francisco. And it's just awful. But I mean, unfortunately, you know, there's a lot of that going on right now in this state. It's too bad.
It is, and you know, you don't want to happen to anybody.
But you know, not no, and imagine the ones we don't know about exactly. You know, premiere people in the in the in the you know, in the news all the time. They're professional athletes and their targets. But even the person that's just going to work doing the nine to five is having to struggle with this. It's too bad, and we're.
Hearing about you know, you know it happens to It's happened to a lot of people. But you're also hearing about home and breakings and robberies happened to you know, former players, current players, celebrities, athletes here in southern California. It's unfortunate what's happening. And again the ABC seven report that he's fine. Walker Bueller recently was robbed of his watch at sending it to park in Arcadia, which is unfortunate if it could happened to Walker Bueller, who is
pretty recognizable. If you're here in southern California, even if you're not a huge Dodger fan, you know who the heck Walker freaking Bueller is. Yes, and people still have the guts to go up to him and the balls to go up to him and his wife and rob him of his watch. It's it's just unbelievable. Yes, So he's got that deal with as well, and has been dealing with. And he gets the Game three start tonight.
I feel like he'll be able to compartimentalize everything and be ready for this start tonight with so much riding on it, and he's gonna need some help, and some of that help's gonna have to come from Mookie Vets and it's well documented Saxy how much he has struggled in the postseason, and he was on his way to having maybe an MVP type season if not for breaking his hand when he did and missing six and a half weeks. Still had a really good twenty twenty four.
But all people want to talk about is is lack of production in the postseason the last few years in the NLDS, and it's continued in the first two games of this series. He's now oh for this series. He's been walked a couple of times, almost went deep in Game two. But the struggles are real for Mookie and he's trying everything to get out of it. And Dave
Roberts has all the confidence in him. But as a hitter yourself, when you see what's happening to him, do you feel for a guy like this and how does he get out of it?
Yeah? Well you just got to you got to rely on the fact that you know that you can do this, and your heart of hearts and the recesses of your soul, you know that you can come back and you can get over this and be very successful. I know, Mookie Cam this guy's a two ninety four career hitter. He's
prolific in everything he does. He's a super good athlete, you know, and I think that he has just got to take a step back, take a deep breath, and just you know what, he doesn't have to do anything special, just take what they give you and make some solid contact and things will happen for him. You know, he can run his way out of a slump too, because he's such a fast runner, so he doesn't have to
hit the ball out of the ballpark. You know, take what they give you, hit the ball the other way if need be, you know, beat out an infield hit. And then all of a sudden, once the hits start coming, all of the naysayers will kind of, you know, slough off and disappear. But we all know what Mookie Bets can do. I will bet on him every single time. I'm not worried whether he's gonna come through eventually, because he will. You can't stop a man like that. He's
too good. And I just think you got to take what they give you, Okay, don't try to, you know, produce so much. Just take what they give you. Start stacking up a couple of hits, and pretty soon the home runs are gonna come.
Dave Roberts yesterday said it's really Mookie having to have a different mindset. And as you mentioned the physical part of it, he's got it and it's not gone anywhere. It's more maybe of a mental makeup right now. And Dave Roberts says show So for me, it's more of just go out there and compete your tail off. It's up to all of us to make sure that he's in a good headspace to go out there and compete and not get too worried about each particular at bad.
And he says, the fact is you can't change the last x amount of postseason games. I understand the burden a player has, but all anyone is concerned about right now is how to best prepare yourself mentally for Tuesday night and the first at bat. So it's going to be basically my message to MOOKI is embrace the moment, yes, and have a different mindset.
I say, bite it right back in the face, challenge it and say I want this opportunity every single time. You know what, you can't hold me down, and I'm gonna take with this team, with the other team gives me and it's gonna be huge. And that's that's the only way you can look at this thing.
And Mookie, you know, he attacks this as well, I'm gonna go take more swings. I'm gonna go hit in the cage more. And that's apparently what he was doing yesterday during batting practice. He was the guy in the cage around the cage, down inside, in the batting cage underneath as well, and taking hundreds of swings in the batting cage. And he did this in the last homestand
at Dodger Stadium when they faced the Padres. He did a podcast with Fernando Tatist Junior, the podcast that he hosts and does every couple of weeks and he's done it since last year, and he posted it during that Padre series and there was some backlash from some media and some Dodger fans, like, hey, aren't you worried about this series? Why are you doing a podcast with Fernando Tetist Junior and not worried about beating him and winning
the division. And he took a little bit of that like wow, he was surprised and yeah, and went out and took three to four hundred swings in the cage just to kind of prove to people that he does care.
Yeah, he doesn't have to prove that. I would say, you know, Mooki has his own way of doing things, and I'm sure that you know, he's going to take the normal track that he that he usually does to get prepared. But sometimes it's good to just take a mental break from it and say, just you know, when you come to the ballpark, sometimes from a long trip that you've had, you know, back east, and you're coming back home and you have maybe a little bit of
an earlier game. Sometimes what the manager will do, he'll say, everybody, just get to the ballpark at you know, at this time, there's going to be no infield practice. We're not going to take any batting practice on the field. You can do some soft tosses you want, but get here, get dressed, and just play the game. Sometimes when you take that
step back like that, you have your best games. Could you just take all that stuff, all the worry and all the preparation of every day, kind of shake that up a little bit, make it a little bit different. Just go there and play and not have anything else on your mind. Sometimes you have your best games.
That way, it feels like it has gotten a Mooki mentally to hear this quote.
The world knows. It's not like it's a secret.
I know.
Nobody is telling me anything I don't already know. Nobody can be harder on me than myself. The only thing I can really do is look forward. I know it's there. I'm trying, man, That's all I can say.
Yeah, nobody cares more than Mooki. I promise you. Nobody feels worse about this than he does. I promise you. So it's not like, hey, come on, dude, let's get going. We're ten years behind the curve on that he is going. He's doing it. It's on his mind. He goes to bed with it, he wakes up with it. It's at the breakfast table with him, it's at the dinner table with him. It's in every thought that in his mind. And believe me, nobody cares more than Mooki.
Dave Robern said yesterday that he has not given any thought and this is something we talked about yesterday. He has given no thought to moving Mooki beds in the lineup out of his number two spot. Good No thoughts of moving him down, and certainly no thoughts of moving him to the leadoff spot and putting O Tawni behind him, even though even though saxy he might get more pitches to look at as a leadoff hitter because you got
Otawni behind you. Dave Roberts says, at this point, I don't think hitting first or second is gonna change much.
I agree. See, I'm in the same camp. And if you moved him to first or you know, and put Otani said, I big, I don't, I wouldn't really care about that. That's fine, I mean it would make a difference. I don't think. That's what I said yesterday as well. I think that you're gonna live or die with Muki at the top of the order. That's that's the only way to look at this. And he's our man, and
we're gonna go with what it is. The Dodgers had the best record in baseball this year because of a lot of because of what Muki had done and the way the lineup is structured. They've been through this thing five million times. They know what they're doing. Sometimes the players just has to go out and execut and they'll take that on and they'll own it.
And so that's where we are right now. I am starting to worry a little bit. If Freddie Freeman is not in the line of batting third, who is there to protect Muki? And if you if you did entertain the thought, and I'm just thinking this in the in the moment here, if you did entertain moving Muki to the lead off spot tonight and putting show Hey Otani's second, with the hopes of show Hey not being pitched around.
Because right now, if you're the Padres and Otani's leading off, why not pitch around him to get to Muki, even if Otani's on base, I mean, let him steal because Muki's struggling so bad right now. I'd rather pitch to Mooki bed second. Or if you flip them, you have to pitch to Muki because Otani's lingering right behind them.
Yeah, well, either way, you know what, it's one pitch away from the Muki coming back. And that's that's the problem that the Padres are gonna have because here, here's what you always think. If somebody's been in a slumper or whatever, and you know he's a really good hitter, here's what the phrase is on the field, somebody is gonna pay. And you know that, you know that somebody is gonna pay when Lukey Betts gets out of this thing,
and boy, they're gonna pay big because he's due. And you know it's gonna be the Padres.
Probably it better be the Padres, and it better be tonight because tonight is a must win Game three for the Dodgers. And I think again, the momentum the Padres have going back home, getting their crowd all up in arms and ready to go and loud, and they've been loud. That's been a really good home environment at Petco Park the last couple of postseasons for San Diego, even though they've locked out Dodger fans, but they've done a really good job of making it a tough environment to go
into it. And the Dodgers now knowing that, I think again, this goes back to our earlier conversation of Dave Roberts and trying to make it the focus of him, and Manny Machado would take the pressure off his guys with this whole throwing the ball at Dave Roberts in the sixth inning of Game two. Hey, take the pressure off my guys all take the media hits, all, take all the incoming right now and be the center of attention just so my guys can focus.
And that's what a good leader does. And that's what Dave Roberts is about. He'll take some of that attention and so the guys can just go about and do their thing. But we all know, we all know that this is gonna come down to. This game today was probably the most important game, I think, because it's gonna set the tone. This is only two of three now, this is the this is the game tonight.
Are you looking at it?
If you're the Dodgers, if let's just get back to LA for a game five? We got to get one of these games, sure, just to get back to Ala. You want to win every game, certainly, But is that maybe your mindset. Let's steal one to get home.
It's the most logical. But naturally you'd like to take the next two and get the heck out of there, come back to LA and not have to play, you know so. But but the thing is, I'm much more worried about what you brought up. Is is you know Freddie Freeman gonna play? I would be much more worried about that than if Mookie's gonna break out of his slump or whatever, because I know that's gonna happen. Sometimes you can't get a game back if Freddie Freeman isn't
in there. And with Michael going tonight, he way do you dodge a fan? See how this guy pitches, He's he's he's a crossfire guy. He's a big dude, and he throws way across his body. He is the right handed version, only about sixty pounds more of Chris Sale. Okay, you know Chris Sale throws across his body right and people think, oh, he's gonna kill his arm and whatever, and he's not strong enough. Well, you saw what kind
of year he had this year. Michael King is the same way, only he's a lot bigger and a lot huskier, and he throws that thing crossways. If you're a right handed batter, it is like a nightmare to see. And I'm sure right at six o'clock it may not be the best time to be facing him, and and and so you know, the left handed hitters are are kind of the same in the same boat. They're looking around
the corner to see where's that ball? Coming from I can't quite see it, and so he's a lot of deception in his delivery and he had a monster year this year.
Let's go out to the phone to eighty six six nine, eighty seven two five seventy. Let's check in with Peter and Westwood is on m five seventy a iceport, some Sacks and Kates and the am how you doing?
Peter?
Very good? Guys, how you doing here? I had two questions I'll throw out to you and I hang up. I really appreciate it, Sax, you love you, Kates and the rest of the gang. I wanted to get your take on as bad as the loss was the other night, is it not instructive? And I think this team, which is a different team than the teams in the past that have been up ten games, fifteen games, twenty games, rolling in and that's where their struggles had come from. This team knows how to take a punch in the
nose and come back. It was a bummer of a loss, but I wanted to get your perspective on their ability to just be able to settle themselves and go in and be professionals in a hostile environment and get a win. It feels like they've been able to do that this year. And then number two, your take on just even if they're able to get through this Padre season, how the pitching plays out in order to get through some length of your seasons and do we really have the arms to get to the promise last.
Thanks a lot, Peter, the resiliency of this team saxtually. They've shown a lot during the regular season to battle back. Certainly, the series against the Padres a week and a half ago at Dodger Stadium was a big series and the Dodgers took two or three. I look at this is the postseason is a different beast, and I don't know if this team's got the resiliency to bounce back or the fight in them. I hope they do. I think
they do based on their makeup. I feel like this team is gonna go out there and hit the Padres in the mouth tonight. But then again, we've seen the last two Octobers. Is all I have to go off, and a lot of these guys are are on those teams from the last two years.
Yeah, I don't think it's because of the wherewithal As far as the makeup of the team. The professionalism of the team, no doubt, to top of the heap as far as that's goes, I mean, and that's an important component in them getting this victory. I don't think that that's going to be an issue or a worry at all. Can they handle the moment? Absolutely they can. This is a There is no chum on this team. This is a This is a bunch of professionals that have been
there and done that before their experience. They're extremely talented, and they're a bunch of the best baseball players in the world on that team. I would not worry about that. The Dodgers aren't worried about that. In the confines of that locker room, they're thinking they're gonna go over there and take the next two and smoke these guys out. I really believe it. Now. Do they have the arms? I think that was the second part of his question. Do they have the arms to go ahead and do it?
That's the biggest question mark, and that's why I think it's imperative that we see a beat down performance from Walker Bueller tonight. Sometimes, I mean, most of the time, you're gonna need your stars, the expected people to come out there and do the job to really step forward in times like this. And there's nobody that's got more incentive surrounding his world right now than Walker Buehler. And it's not going to be because of lack of will.
It's gonna be if he's feeling it good, if he's in a rhythm, if he's in that zone, Walker can shut these guys down. I would expect that we need one or two runs with the seven innings behind him and give that bullprint a break, because I don't think that the Dodgers are extremely deep, and they're starting pitching right now. That's the big question mark. And if they're gonna go deeper in postseason, they're gonna have to not
tax that bullpen nearly as much. You're gonna have to have these starters step up and do a you know, five plus.
He is Steve Sacks. I am Tim Kates at Saxon Kates in the AM. Postseason continues for the Dodgers tonight with Game three of this NLDS. First pitch at six oh eight, Walker Bueller and Michael King the pitching matchup coming up next hour. Steven Nelson calling the games here on m FI seventy LA Sports will join us. David Vasseo will join us at the top of the hour. Lost to get into with the two of those guys.
Your phone calls as well. Eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy will do a baseball whip around coming up next as well. It's Sax and Kate's in the am right You're at NFI seventy LA Sports. Saxon, Kates and Am continues here on A five seventy LA Sports. If you're looking for the Dan Patrick Show, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app d and the Dan Nets.
We're leading up to Game three of the NLDS, a must win game for the Dodgers in my opinion, as the Dodgers have to win two of the next three to advance to the NLCS. Walker Revealer on the Mound, Michael King will go for San Diego. David Bats will join us at the top of the next hour. Steven Nelson, voice of the Dodgers, will join us as well. This is one of four series going on right now, Saxy.
You got the other NLDS series, which is continuing today in New York at City Field, Game three between the Mets and the Phillies. That series tied up at a game of Peace, and the Phillies riding momentum into the postseason. No more though than the Mets, who really finished with the flurry in the last two weeks of the season. It's funny they were talking about how they were the
road dogs. They had to finish the last week of the season on the road, then they had to play the wild Card Round on the road in Milwaukee, and then they had to go right to Philadelphia for the first two games of the an LDS series against the Mets. This has been a team that going into today's games, but the last two plus weeks playing all road.
Games, Yeah, tell me they They've had a tough way to get where they are right now. But I'll tell you what this team is. They keep beating him down. It's kind of like that that that what's that money or something the movie where you keep cutting his arm off and he just keeps coming back. It's just a flesh womb whatever. But that seems to be what the Mets are right now. And they got the top of
the order pumping right now. Pete Alonzo's hit a couple of home runs, you know, Mark Vientos is hitting over four hundred postseason, and that top of the order is cranking right now for the Mets. Lindor's you know, as we say, he's feeling it too. So these guys are these guys are, you know, defying the odds. And those are scary people, they are.
They a lot of people rode off the Mets because they were struggling around the All Star break. But they started to get it together, they started to figure it out, they started to get healthy here in September and now in October playing well. That series tied at a game and piece. In the American League, the two divisional series
happening there, they both played yesterday. It was the Tigers and Guardians in Cleveland and that series now tied up in a game in piece as the Tigers get a three to nothing win with a late home run off of the closer there in Cleveland Closse. And it was a great pitching matchup to start with. But Trek scouble seven shutout innings, eight strikeouts, three hits. He's gonna win the cy young.
Yeah.
In the American League, a lot of teams were trying to acquire him at the trade deadline, and the Tigers said, nope, nope, nope, nope, we're going to trade Flairity, but we're not going to trade school ball. We have control of him for a couple of years. He's the best pitcher in the American League. We're hanging on to him. And they made a run like nobody's business to make the postseason, to win a wild card round, and here they are now tied one to one going back home in a best of five series.
This Tiger, his team is for real.
Oh they are. They're They're a scary team too. People look at them and say, nah, you know what, the Guardians are going to beat those guys down. But no, not the case. These guys are hanging right there and they're gonna be dangerous. Scooble, what a year he's had this year. It's just amazing.
He's been fantastic. The other Alds series. Last night in the Bronx it was the Yankees and the Royals. The Royals hung on a one the game four to two. I'll be honest with you, I can't name more than two Kansas City Royals players, probably one Bobby Witt Junior and the catcher, yes, Salvi Prez Those are the two guys I couldn't even think of his name. Those are the two players I know on the Kansas City US. Mark Kubazat's not putting on the Kansas City Royals or
Brett Sayrigan's not pitching for them anytime soon. But Royals get the win last night. They even up this series at a game at peace going back to Kansas City. It was a game that was on TBS last night and it was Ron Darling and Bob Costas and on social media after the eighth inning in this call, a lot of baseball fans are like, wait a second, who's Bob Costas rooting for.
Hit?
The short wit gets the force?
Can they turn to Yes, they count And it's just the point we were making.
It's not John Carlow's fault.
A near base hit, couldn't beat it out of the other end turns it into a double play.
Bob really a national call here? Are you rooting for the Yankees? Are you really for the Royals?
Yeah? That's uh, that's kind of a that's kind of a weird call right there. Bob Costa, certainly he has got a long career. He knows that he probably shouldn't do that. But yeah, it came through who's who's pulling for? But I thought that the crazy thing was in the interview with Chazz Jazz Chisholm and saying that the you know, the Royals just got lucky. You don't tell the national audience that somebody else is lucky because they beat you.
I mean, let me tell you what. The Royals guys that have a very athletic team led by Bobby Witt junr. And you don't just tell people that you know, they were you know, the balls are catching, the diving plays they make, turning double play on John Carlo there at a critical time in in you know, a ball that's hit to your right in the hole and be able to turn that thing over. You don't tell everybody that they're they're lucky. You just say they played well.
No, But I think that's the general consistence of this Royals team is Wow. This is a team that just won eighty six games. They finished second in the Central. Nobody thought they'd be here. It's luck that they've gotten this far into the postseason. It's luck that's got them tied one to one in this best of five series. And there's no way they can step to the big bad New York Yankees with what Bobby Witt Junior in a cast of characters around him. That's that's the treatment
they're getting right now. In fact, that's the treatment I think the American League of General is getting.
Saxy.
Well, if that's what it is, Tim, I'd much rather be lucky than good. That's the truth, you know. Tell you what, They've got some guys that can play on this club, and I would be not going into there thinking you're gonna mop these guys up. It's not gonna happen that way.
I think Bob Costas is tone last night on that double play ball that gim Carlos is standing to hit to end the eighth inning, and any kind of threat that inning for the Yankees was maybe the same sentiment the executives around baseball and the TV networks were kind of feeling too in that game last night, like, oh.
No, they just want Kansas City.
There's no way that our beloved Yankees can be bounced in the postseason. We need a New York West Coast, whether it's the Dodgers, we hope, or Padres World Series championship. We knot of have a Kansas City versus San Diego World Series.
There's no way nobody will watch this.
Yeah, but remember when we had the the was it the Cubs and then the Cleveland Yeah, that was a great series. We have these guys and the Midwest clubs, No, and they turned out to be a phenomenal series. I don't know. I just think, you know, well, we'll see what happens on when it comes down to that, get to that time. We're a long ways away, you know, from the World Series right now.
Yeah, we got game three to night of this an LDS. It's the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Let's go out to Serritos and is this.
Charles Charles in West Covina.
Yes, go ahead, Charles row there.
Yeah. I just want to say that I've seen times where they have pitched around Otani and Mookie has made them make them pay, and the two professional As far as the seventh inning mountdown in Dodger Stadium, Messaday, I thought there was a little agitation by the Padre players to the sands, and I think that's real dangerous. And HOWKO fines aren't being laid out on that on Walker Buehler, I think you're gonna get a walker Bueler tonight that's
gonna come to pitch. You don't know what you're gonna get. He could throw a great ball game, he could get bombs, But I think we're coming back to Dodger Stadium, whether it's a Game five or the National Championships.
All right, Charles, appreciate the phone call. He is right.
We've seen showy Otani get intentionally walk this year and Mookie Betts then turn around and hit a home run like he did a month ago. He had a three run home run after show. Hey, O'tani was intentionally walked. I mean he's been intentionally walked almost seventy times wow, in his career with the Angels and the Dodgers. So yeah, if you want to pitch around Otani, you mentioned it, Saxy, go ahead. You've got a hungry Mookie Bets waiting to torture.
And Otani might steal second. And this guy tonight that pitching, he can definitely steal off. This guy pitching tonight.
I'm liking that.
Just get on bass show, Hey otanh eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy. He is Steve Sacks. I am Tim Kates coming up next hour. It's a busy hour. David vas Say will join us from San Diego. Steven Nelson play by play voice of the Dodgers here on a five seventy LA Sports where join us as well your phone calls. Steve's Keys to the game. Three win for the Dodgers coming up as well, Dodgers Padres. We're live and local here on your home of the Rogers Amphi seventy LA Sports