Dodgers get intriguing Chiefs comparison from Vinnie Pasquantino

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino sees a familiar blueprint behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ October surge — one he knows well from across town. Asked why looks so formidable right now, Pasquantino reached outside baseball for the analogy: the Dodgers are operating like the Kansas City Chiefs.

“You talk about the Chiefs practicing in the regular season … it’s similar,” Pasquantino said on FS1, noting how L.A. has shifted gears in October. “They’re playing a different game” with their starting pitching than they did across 162.

That “different game” has been on full display this series. One night after Blake Snell faced the minimum through eight, Yoshinobu Yamamoto answered with a 111-pitch complete game, settling in after a first-inning homer and mowing through Milwaukee with seven strikeouts. The consecutive deep starts — rarities in today’s postseason — have let Dave Roberts bypass a vulnerable bullpen and lean into his roster’s current strength. As Pasquantino put it: “If you look at the construction … the strength is starting pitching. And when you can have your most talented pitchers get the most outs, then you're in a good spot.”

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The Royals slugger also offered a hitter’s-eye view of why that approach matters. When a rolling starter gets yanked early, dugouts “start to smell it,” he said — energy spikes, and a crack appears. Conversely, when aces keep the ball deep, the door stays shut. That’s been the Dodgers’ script so far.

Offensively, Shohei Ohtani hasn’t been his usual supernova since a two-homer opener, a slump Pasquantino chalked up largely to lefty-heavy pitching looks. He isn’t worried: in a World Series matchup with righty-stacked staffs like Seattle or Toronto, “I’d imagine he’ll come out of it,” he said. And inside the dugout? “You don’t say anything” to a star scuffling — maybe crack a joke — because everyone knows he’ll flip it.

Importantly, L.A. hasn’t needed Ohtani to carry them. Pasquantino rattled off the depth — Kiké Hernández at the bottom, Teoscar Hernández thumping, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman doing damage — and declared, “Yeah, I do” when asked if the Dodgers are clear-cut favorites. “This is what they do.”

Pasquantino even sprinkled in a personal Ohtani nugget: the two hardest pitches Ohtani has ever thrown — including 102 mph — came against him. “He’s got some issue with me,” he joked, remembering three straight heaters.

Put it together — starters working deep, a lineup that stacks quality at-bats, and an MVP who can still tip a series — and the Chiefs comp lands. Like Kansas City toggling from regular-season experiments to cold-blooded playoff execution, the Dodgers look like a team built for the final rounds, not just the bracket.