Starting pitching has been a strength of the Los Angeles Dodgers on their run to the World Series, and they hope things remain that way when the Fall Classic begins on Friday.
Between Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers have four aces who are all capable of starting Game 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays. But the Dodgers at minimum are beginning the World Series with the same rotation order seen during the National League Championship Series.
“I think we’re going to run the same rotation back,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think, for sure, for the first two, Snell and then Yamamoto. And we’ll see for Game 3 and Game 4.”
The last time Snell and Yamamoto pitched, they provided historic outings, combining for 17 innings of one-run ball with just four hits allowed and 17 strikeouts to only one walk.
Glasnow then followed them up with a gem of his own, while Shohei Ohtani closed out the series with arguably the greatest game in MLB history, tossing six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and adding three homers at the plate.
But Snell has been the most dominant by far, and using him in Game 1 allows him to return for a potential Game 5, and out of the bullpen in a game 7.
“With every great starting staff, you’ve got to have that anchor,” Roberts said. “Blake has always been a finisher. Starting the way the season started, to have him get back, to pitch the way he did, sort of raised the bar for everyone.
“I thought got Yamamoto even better, got Glas even better, Shohei. And it just allowed for us to not only prevent a couple losing streaks, but just win games, win series, win seven out of 10, eight out of 10, things like that. It was really good to see our starting pitching push one another.”
Dodgers rotation lined up for potential Games 5-7?
With Yamamoto going Game 2, he can also start a potential Game 6, giving the Dodgers their top two pitchers again if the series goes longer than four games.
If the Dodgers stick with their previous decision in Game 3, Glasnow would start and be lined up for Game 7, leaving Ohtani for Game 4 and a potential option out of the bullpen in a winner-take-all scenario.
However, Roberts said the rotation order when they return to Dodger Stadium hasn’t been set in stone yet.
“We haven’t decided on Game 3 or Game 4,” Roberts said when asked about Ohtani potentially pitching Game 7. “As far as relief, we’ve just got to see how the series plays out. Right now, we just haven’t made that decision.”
