Wood appears set to follow Game 3 starter Darvish in Dodgers’ playoff rotation

Right-hander Yu Darvish and left-hander Alex Wood each threw three simulated innings Wednesday at Dodger Stadium as the Dodgers sought to minimize the impact of long layoffs on their probable starters in games 3 and 4 of a National League Division series.

Manager Dave Roberts has not yet officially announced Wood as the club’s choice for a potential fourth game, but right-hander Kenta Maeda, another candidate to start, threw only one inning Wednesday.

Ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw, the Game 1 starter Friday at Dodger Stadium, remains an option to start on short rest, as he did the last four years. However, the Dodgers have said they do not plan to do that again.

At 5 p.m., the Dodgers convened in their clubhouse to watch the National League wild-card game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Ninety minutes earlier, Roberts said they would watch to learn their opponent and capture some of the excitement.

“You can look at the focus in the players,” Roberts said. “That’s when the butterflies start circulating.”

Roberts tiptoed around questions about which team he’d prefer to face.

“It’s easy to say that all year long the Diamondbacks have had good pitching,” he said. “If you’re looking at who probably has the edge in pitching, it’s the Diamondbacks. But I won’t say which team we’d prefer, because they’re both good ballclubs.”

Of the 20 teams the Dodgers played in the regular season, they had winning records against all but the Diamondbacks and Rockies.

As he watched the American League wild-card game Tuesday night, Roberts considered the moves of New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who pulled his ace in the first inning.

“There’s a little bit of trying to manage from the sidelines,” Roberts said. “But you understand that they know more about their personnel than you do.”

Roberts referenced Yankees reliever David Robertson, who pitched 3 1/3 innings in the 8-4 win over the Minnesota Twins. In 604 games over 10 major league seasons, including the playoffs, Robertson had never completed three innings.

“Guys are gonna be extended a little bit,” Roberts said.

One extension candidate for the Dodgers is right-hander Brandon Morrow, a converted starter who typically pitched an inning at a time in the regular season, almost always with a day of rest between appearances.

“We haven’t gone two innings with him this year,” Roberts said. “But it’s probably not outside the realm of possibility.”

For nearly 20 minutes, Roberts entertained questions, including one about whether he preferred to rely on statistics or scouting. Both, Roberts said. But on the topic of finalizing his NLDS roster he left no doubt as to what mattered more between recent and long-term play.

“I don’t think the body of work,” Roberts said. “I think there’s a component of the season, but it’s gonna weigh more on recent performance.”

Short hops

Right-handers Ross Stripling, Pedro Baez, and Josh Fields threw an inning apiece Wednesday. Baez appears likely to make the roster, which does not have to be announced until Friday morning. … Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu and right-handers Walker Buehler and Brock Stewart will throw in simulated game situations Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Roberts declined to say how many innings they would pitch.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura