The Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff rotation is taking shape after manager Dave Roberts revealed his starting pitchers for Games 2 and 3 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Roberts previously announced that star two-way player and right-handed pitcher Shohei Ohtani will be on the bump for the Dodgers for Game 1 on Saturday night in Philadelphia. We now know who will be getting the ball behind the 2024 MLB MVP.
He announced on Friday that he will be starting former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell against the Phillies in Game 2 on Monday night.
Snell went 5-4 in 11 games in an injury-shortened 2025 campaign, boasting a 2.35 ERA with a 1.26 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched. Snell shined in Game 1 of the team’s NL Wildcard series against the Cincinnati Reds and went seven innings, striking out nine batters and allowing four hits, one walk, and two earned runs. The Dodgers came away with a 10-5 victory over the Reds.
The 32-year-old is 5-3 in 13 starts in his postseason career, boasting a 3.23 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP with 70 strikeouts in 55.2 innings.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the team’s Game 3 starter on Wednesday, Oct. 8, when the series shifts from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. The second-year pitcher went 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA, 201 strikeouts, and a 0.99 WHIP in 173.2 innings pitched across 30 starts in 2025. He made one start in the team’s wildcard series against the Reds, going 6.2 scoreless innings while fanning nine batters and giving up four hits and two walks.
The 27-year-old Japanese native went 2-0 with four starts in the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title in 2024. He boasted a 3.86 ERA, striking out 15 batters while allowing six walks, eight home runs, and 12 hits in 18.2 innings.
Los Angeles is looking to advance to the NLCS for the fourth time in the past six seasons. The Dodgers have two World Series titles in that span, coming in 2020 against the Tampa Bay Rays and in 2024 against the New York Yankees.
