(Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Rowan Kavner

The Dodgers won’t divulge which team they’d rather play in the National League Championship Series.

They just know the longer Thursday night’s game goes between the Nationals and Cubs in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, the better.

“Best case scenario, they play 18 innings,” Andre Ethier quipped. “Play until 1 o’clock, maybe a rain delay. Hour drive to the airport from D.C. to Dulles (International Airport), delay, maybe 3 or 4 takeoff, that’s best case scenario.”

While the odds of that are slim, the Dodgers do again find themselves much more well-rested than their upcoming playoff opponent will be.

After watching the Diamondbacks use multiple starters in the Wild Card matchup before the NLDS, the Dodgers now wait after another win-or-go-home situation between two teams whose rotations could be thrown off.

Ethier said the Dodgers are ready and prepared for either team they could face.

“Quality pitching staffs up front, good bullpens and deep lineups,” Ethier said. “I think they kind of mirror each other well. It’s tough to say one opponent’s a better matchup for us or not.”

Kershaw in Game 1, Wood in Game 4

Manager Dave Roberts said Clayton Kershaw will start game 1 and Alex Wood will start Game 4.

The only thing left to decide in the rotation for the first four games of the NLCS is the order to use Rich Hill and Yu Darvish in Games 2 and 3.

“We’re close, and obviously after tonight we’ll make that decision,” said Roberts, who added that the decision could be based on opponent.

In the NLDS, Kershaw started Game 1, followed by Hill at home in Game 2 and Darvish on the road in Game 3. Wood was scheduled to start Game 4, if there was one. After the Dodgers swept, Wood was among the pitchers Thursday throwing in a simulated game at Dodger Stadium.

Roster almost set

The roster for the NLCS is clearer than it was heading into the NLDS, though a tweak or two could still be made.

“Right now, we’re pretty much set, but obviously it’s not set in stone,” Roberts said. “We’ve got guys here that are on our taxi squad that we’re still kind of trying to play out certain situations.”

Roberts said before the NLDS that Luis Avilan (shoulder) was a possibility to be activated for the NLCS. Avilan said he felt fine after a simulated game Wednesday, and Roberts said he thought Avilan’s fastball was “a tick better than it was last week” while watching him throw.

“So, obviously it’s a simulated situation, there’s no adrenaline, per se,” Roberts said. “He’s certainly trending in the right direction. From his mouth, he feels he’s 100 percent.”

(Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Still, Roberts said no decision has been made as to whether Avilan will be on the roster. A day after Avilan’s simulated game, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu joined Wood in a simulated game Thursday.

“The chances of us staying the same are good, but that door’s not closed,” Roberts said.

Maeda plays up

Kenta Maeda’s fastball, which typically hovered around 92 mph during the regular season, reached upwards of 95 mph in his perfect eighth inning in Game 3 in the NLDS.

Roberts said, in theory, most starters’ “stuff should play up” in a move to the bullpen. But it doesn’t always work out the way it did in Maeda’s case. Roberts said the fastball being a few ticks quicker also made Maeda’s already elite slider more difficult to hit.

“Kenta, who’s always been a starter, just having that ability to … let it go for however many pitches we need from him, the stuff has really played up,” Roberts said. “Execution has really been finite. To see Kenta in a small sample is very difficult, and obviously when you put him against right-handed hitters, it makes it that much more tough.”

It didn’t take much convincing, according to Roberts, to get Maeda to pitch out of the bullpen in October after serving as a starter much of the year.

The move worked out, as Maeda finished the NLDS with a win and four strikeouts in two perfect innings over two relief appearances.

“He was just on board to help us out in any way,” Roberts said. “But I do believe that having experienced the pen earlier this year really helped him ease his mind that he can do it.”