Though they have the National League West title wrapped up, the Los Angeles Dodgers still have home field in the National League Division Series to play for as they take on the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday Night Baseball (10 ET, ESPN/WatchESPN).
Home field important for Dodgers
The Dodgers’ win over the Giants on Tuesday night clinched their third consecutive postseason appearance, marking the first time in franchise history they have made it three years in a row.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Dodgers trailed the New York Mets by one game in the race for home-field advantage in their upcoming division series matchup. The Mets own the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 4-3.
Having home-field advantage would be a major boost for the Dodgers. Entering play on Wednesday, the Dodgers had the second-best home record in the major leagues at 52-26 (.667). Only the St. Louis Cardinals (55-26) were better.
The Dodgers are 36-43 (.456) on the road this season, and are guaranteed to be the only NL playoff team to have a sub-.500 road record. Not surprisingly, the other four playoff teams have the four best road records in the National League.
The Dodgers' .211 differential in winning percentage between home games and road games is the biggest in the National League, and they trail only the Houston Astros (.265 differential) in all of baseball.
In their last two postseason appearances, the Dodgers are 5-2 at home and 1-6 on the road.
Bolsinger looking to rebound
The Dodgers will send Mike Bolsinger to the mound on Wednesday night. Bolsinger started the season off well, going 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 16 starts through July 29. He allowed more than four runs in a start only once in that span.
The Dodgers acquired Alex Wood and Mat Latos at the trade deadline, and Bolsinger was sent to the minors. Since returning, he has not performed up to the same standard.
In four starts since returning to the Dodgers' rotation, Bolsinger is 1-2 with a 6.88 ERA, and he has failed to go more than five innings in a game. He has allowed at least three earned runs in all four of his starts, and his ERA has jumped to 3.48.
The most noticeable difference in Bolsinger's statistics since he came back from the minors is that he is allowing home runs at a much higher rate. From April through July he allowed three home runs in 89 innings. He allowed a home run to 0.8 percent of batters faced, the second-lowest rate among pitchers with at least 15 starts (behind only Tyson Ross, 0.7 percent).
In September, he has allowed seven home runs in 17 innings, which is one shy of the most in the majors this month. That equates to 8.1 percent of batters faced, the highest rate among pitchers with at least four starts in September.