When Dusty Baker told reporters on Friday night that Jose Lobaton would likely start Game 2 of the NLDS with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he cited Lobaton’s history with left-handed starter Rich Hill as part of the thinking as Washington tried to mix and match to make up for the loss of Wilson Ramos to an ACL injury late in the season.
“Lobi, I think, is 3-for-3 off of Hill, so we'll probably go that way tomorrow,” Baker said.
Surely that wasn’t the only reason, considering those at bats came back in 2012-13, and considering Lobaton struggled against left-handers in limited at bats this season, going 1 for 15, but it was the only information the Nationals’ skipper shared to explain the decision to go with Lobaton over Pedro Severino, who hit lefties well at Triple-A this season and got the start in Game 1 because a left-hander, Clayton Kershaw, was on the mound.