Old hand Lackey vs. young gun Urias in Game 4 of NLCS
Less than a week away from his 38th birthday, John Lackey is one of the older starting pitchers in major-league baseball.
Just over two months past his 20th birthday, Julio Urias is set to become the youngest pitcher to ever start a playoff game.
Needless to say, Game 4 of the National League championship series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers is going to be a battle of the ages - at least on the starting front.
Lackey was 23 years old when he first appeared in the playoffs, and he started and won Game 7 of the World Series for the Anaheim Angels in 2002.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon remembers the game well. He was the Angels' bench coach under Mike Scioscia.
"He hasn't changed at all," Maddon told reporters Tuesday. "He's actually in physically better shape than he was. Check out the pictures from 2002 compared to how he looks now. He's in better shape. He's taking care of himself."
Lackey started Game 4 of the National League division series against the San Francisco Giants and didn't last long, pitching 6 innings and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. It was the right-hander's first start since Sept. 27 and Lackey was far from sharp.
In a sense, Lackey's still trying to make it all the way back from a shoulder issue that sidelined him from Aug. 15-Sept. 3.
"I feel like physically I might be getting stronger, but as far as pitching once every two weeks the last couple times is not ideal," Lackey said. "But it is what it is. I'm going to go out there, get after it, and try to execute some pitches."
Urias, a left-hander, was on an innings limit this season and he made only 15 starts for the Dodgers while going 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA.
He did pitch 2 scoreless innings in the decisive Game 5 of the NL division series against the Washington Nationals. This will be Urias' first start since Sept. 29, when he logged only 3 innings.
"That's how it's been all year," Urias said. "The decision has been the team's. The only thing that's important is to be in the mentality to go out there, do my job, and that's really what matters."
Urias made 2 starts against the Cubs in the regular season, going 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He knows the third trip to the mound will be different.
"The pressure is always there," Urias said. "It's something that you have to deal with. I felt the adrenaline when I was on the bench, so I'm thinking that it's something that I'm also going to feel. I felt it in Washington, but then I knew that it was something that I could handle and something I could do. It was a task that I could do. And I know that I can do it again."
• Follow Scot's baseball reports on Twitter @sgregor.