World Series Game 3 Thread: Oct 23 @ Rays, 5p

Aha, there's the corrrect logo.

Buehler vs. Morton.

When it comes to the Dodgers, my emotions run higher and lower than a normal mortal's calibration. I was simply euphoric after Game 1's victory. But after Game 2's loss, I was despondent--a sulking which has lasted for 36 hours given the off-day for "travel" to the opposite clubhouse in Globe Life Field.

I know this isn't rational or logical. But I can't help it. And everything I have read just spikes the emotions further, in the direction of how I'm feeling.

The LAT's Bill Plaschke says Dodgers fans should be worried.. (I'm worried.) The LAT's resident grump, Dylan Hernandez, assures that we've got this. (I'm still worried.)

And so it comes down to this pivotal Game 3, a must-win start for Walker Buehler, beset with blisters and 2-1 lifetime in the postseason (including no decisions in two four-inning 2020 postseason starts), against Charlie Morton, who is on the verge of an eighth-consecutive winning postseason decision..

The Dodgers wasted opportunities all over the place in Game 2, in which we were 0-for-6 with RISP and let Blake Snell carve us up like a deli counter employee over the first four innings. Snell was at a pace of two Ks per inning before Chris Taylor broke through with a two-run HR in the bottom of the fifth.

The Dodgers worked 7 walks in Game 1's win. We had only 4 walks in Game 2's loss. And as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick pointed out about the Dodgers' walk rate (we trail only the 1997 Marlins for the postseason record), when we're not patient, we're not as successful.

And from a pitching perspective, I think we've established from NLCS Game 7 and World Series Game 2 that Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are not up to it this postseason. One can blame Dave Roberts for throwing these young arms in such critical situations. But the results speak for themselves: neither one is up to the pressure of this national stage, not yet. Which shatters the illusion of "bullpen games" with the reality of an early white flag, demonstrated no more clearly than Alex Wood taking over in the seventh with the Dodgers down 6-3.

So I'm worried. Like Wildstorm's Midnighter, I have taken the extra day off to play out thousands of scenarios in my mind, and there are too many potential game outcomes in which the Dodgers come up short.

I know, the Dodgers have been in much worse situations this postseason, like when we were down 0-2 in the NLCS and yet at which point I was more positive. Now, the series is tied, and I'm a mess.

I know this is profoundly negative. Like I said, I'm on the swing of a pendulum that is much wider than a normal person's. My stomach lining is probably in shreds.

Who knows what Dodgers team will emerge from the visitors' dugout this game. All I know is, I'm freaking out with worry. We need a win tonight.

LET'S GO, DODGERS!