Dodgers Dugout: Zack Greinke takes center stage

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and here’s a good Game 5 omen: The Kirk Gibson home run happened 27 years ago today.

Game 5 preview

--Tonight is the night. Dodgers vs. Mets. Zack Greinke vs. Jacob deGrom. Winner moves on to the NLCS to take on the Chicago Cubs. If you aren’t going to the game, it starts at 5 p.m. Pacific on TBS. And if you watch it, just ignore Ron Darling. He loves the Mets and might actually cry if they lose.

--Don Mattingly has some lineup decisions to make. Justin Turner’s knee is sore, Yasmani Grandal’s shoulder is hurt, and there is a tough right-hander on the mound. Who should he start? Here’s the lineup I would go with:

Kiké Hernandez, CF

Howie Kendrick, 2B

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

Justin Turner, 3B

Andre Ethier, RF

Corey Seager, SS

Carl Crawford, LF

A.J. Ellis, C

I’d rather have a sore Turner out there than Seager and Jimmy Rollins on the left side of the infield. For me, the toughest choice is in the outfield. Do you go with Crawford or Joc Pederson? Justin Ruggiano can’t hit right-handers well, so he’s out. Yasiel Puig just doesn’t look ready to me, so he’s out. Pederson gives you the best defensive outfield, but I just don’t see him catching up to deGrom’s fastball. You could say the same for Crawford, but he has a lot of postseason experience and has four playoff homers in his Dodgers career. He has a tendency to step up in big games in the past, so I would go with him. If the Dodgers lead after six innings, I’d take him out, move Hernandez to left and put Pederson in center.

The other tough choice is catcher. Grandal is injured and hasn’t hit well in the last six weeks. Plus, I just like Ellis better defensively behind the plate. I think he is better at working with the pitchers and making sure they remain calm and in the game. But if I was managing the Dodgers, here’s what I would do: I would pull Greinke aside today and privately ask him which catcher he wants behind the plate. Whoever he picks is the one I would start.

--Another good thing about Greinke starting is it gives the Dodgers an extra bat in the lineup, because Greinke is a good hitter and not an automatic out.

--Greinke and deGrom bumped into each other on the field at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. What did they talk about? “We were kind of just talking about when they flew in and our flight. Nothing too serious,” deGrom told Adam Rubin of ESPN. “I had a chance to meet him at the All-Star game. Good guy.”

--Adding to the drama is that this could be Greinke’s final start with the Dodgers. He can opt out of his contract after the season. "If this is Zack's last season with us, I've had a great time playing with him," Clayton Kershaw told Times Dodgers reporter Dylan Hernandez. "Definitely some of the most fun I've ever had watching someone pitch every five days. I hope it's not the last one." There are a lot of people out there hoping this is not his last one.

--How about this scenario? Greinke pitches seven shutout innings and hands the ball to setup man Clayton Kershaw, who hands the ball to closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth. Dodgers win, 1-0, on an Adrian Gonzalez homer.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on to him. Here is his latest response:

Stan asks: I agree with what you said about Yasiel Puig. He should have been gone by now. Who would the Cubs rather play in the NLCS, Ross?

Ross: The Cubs played the Mets seven times during the regular season, Stan, and Chicago won all seven. The scores were 4-3, 6-1, 2-1, 6-5, 1-0, 2-0 and 6-1. The Cubs outscored the Mets, 27 to 11. Two shutouts and three games allowing one run.

How did the Cubs fare against the Dodgers?  Three wins and four losses. Do you think the Cubs might be pulling for New York this evening?

If the Dodgers win tonight, they will be home for games 1, 2, 6 and 7. Jon Lester is due to start Game 1 for the Cubs and Jake Arrieta Game 2. That would mean Arrieta could not start three games in the NLCS.

If the Dodgers win tonight, do they start Clayton Kershaw on Saturday in Game 1 of the NLCS -- on three days’ rest -- for the second time in eight days? Zack Greinke could pitch Game 3 on Tuesday in Chicago -- on four days’ rest.

And finally

I predict that whoever wins tonight will go on to face the Cubs in the NLCS. I hate to go out on a limb like that, but sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston.