LOS ANGELES — Don Mattingly’s first two postseasons as a manager were not a total loss. “Every day you learn,” Mattingly said this week as his Los Angeles Dodgers prepared for their National League division series against the Mets.
In last year’s N.L.D.S. opener at Dodger Stadium, Mattingly waited one batter too many before yanking his wilting starter, Clayton Kershaw, who gave up a go-ahead three-run double to the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter in the seventh inning of a game that St. Louis held on to win.
So on Friday, after a wilting Kershaw walked Lucas Duda on five pitches to open the seventh and also issued free bases to two of the next four batters, Ruben Tejada and Curtis Granderson, by letting them wiggle free from 1-2 counts, Mattingly made his move.