Washington Nationals: What To Watch For In Game 3 Of NLDS

Dominance Of Maeda’s Slider

In his rookie season, Maeda went under the radar in a Dodgers rotation that features Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill. The 28-year-old right-hander went 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts. During the second half of the season, teams hit .246 and Maeda went 8-5 with a 4.25 ERA in 14 starts.

One of the keys to Maeda having success this season has been his slider. According to Brooks Baseball, teams are hitting .173 against Maeda’s slider this season with six home runs, but they have struck out 87 times.

To get a scouting report on Maeda, I talked with the editor of Dodgers Way, Alex Campos. Here is what he had to say about Maeda’s pitch arsenal:

"“When he’s on he hits his locations like crazy. Very good control dating back to Japan. His fastball isn’t anything special but he mixes in a really good slider and a solid curveball. He also can break all his pitches differently (less/more break on his slider or curve when he wants).” “Really impressive pitcher all around. He won Japan’s version of the gold glove a few times and he’s a pretty solid hitter and great hunter. When he dots it [the slider], it’s unhittable. In some big games he loses control a little bit.”"

While Maeda had a 2.73 ERA in five starts during the month of September, he hasn’t gone past the fifth inning in any of his last four outings. In the postseason, one bad inning can all of a sudden make this a bullpen game.

One other thing to keep an eye on is that Maeda’s 3.09 ERA in the first inning is the highest of any Dodgers starting pitcher. If the Washington Nationals offense can adjust early to a pitcher they haven’t seen before, it will allow the pressure to come off of Gonzalez a little bit.