Overview

• Manager Aaron Boone’s Game 1 lineup omits Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr., opting for Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and José Caballero as right-handed starters.
• Boone had indicated Rice would sit, and the club emphasized the move as a matchup decision rather than a demotion.
• Rice has hit .208 against left-handers this season, while Goldschmidt has excelled versus lefties at roughly .336.
• Left-hander Garrett Crochet enters off a standout year with 205.1 innings, a 2.59 ERA, and a strikeout rate above 11 per nine, with lefties held to a .166 average.
• Rosario brings a 6-for-9 track record against Crochet and Caballero starts at third despite being 0-for-7 lifetime, as Ryan McMahon also opens on the bench.