LOS ANGELES — Throughout much of the regular season, Dodgers veterans like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman preached how so many facets of the game — hitting or slumps, for example — can be contagious.
“I hope so,” Tyler Glasnow said on Wednesday during the Dodgers’ workout ahead of his start on Thursday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. “I don’t know. For me, sometimes I think it sounds cool and it’s kind of magical, but I think it’s like if you just go out and pitch well — because we have a lot of good starting pitching — I think because we have a lot of good hitting, I think a lot of times it will line up all together at some points.”
It all seems to be lining up for the Dodgers at the right time. With all the question marks in the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts has leaned on his starters through the first eight games of this postseason, and that has only increased in the NLCS. Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto each pitched masterpieces of at least eight innings in Games 1 and 2, with Yamamoto throwing the Dodgers’ first postseason complete game since 2004.
Roberts, a firm believer in momentum, thinks it will carry over.
“As far back as time … starters sort of want to feed off each other, compete against one another, push each other,” Roberts said. “And that’s what we’re sensing from our staff. It’s going to be hard to top Blake and what Yoshinobu did, but I’m sure Glas is going to try to put his mark on this [series].”
Along with Snell and Yamamoto, Glasnow has also been nails this postseason, holding opponents to a .154 batting average across 7 2/3 scoreless innings in two appearances. After pitching 1 2/3 innings of relief in Game 1 of the NL Division Series, Glasnow went six more and struck out eight in his start in Game 4. He likely would have gone longer if he hadn’t started cramping up.
Glasnow also had success against the Brewers in the regular season, holding them to two runs (one earned) over 11 innings across two starts (July 9 and July 18), although the Dodgers lost both games.
The Dodgers’ rotation as a whole is in a completely different place than it was in July. Injuries and slumps decimated the pitching staff for much of the season. Glasnow himself spent two months on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. But since September, Glasnow has been one of the team’s many reliable arms, carrying a 1.84 ERA in his last six outings.
Now, Roberts inserts a hot Glasnow between Snell and Yamamoto — combined 0.53 ERA and a .073 opponents’ batting average this series — and Shohei Ohtani, who struck out nine in his Game 1 NLDS start against the Phillies. After everything the Dodgers’ rotation has been through in 2025, it’s finally clicking.
Suddenly, Dodgers starters are every bit as dangerous on the mound as they were on paper back in April.
“It’s perfect timing,” Glasnow said. “I feel like towards the end of the season, we started playing really good baseball. And then as the postseason has started, we’ve all just kind of clicked and gotten on a new level. The vibe is really good in the clubhouse. Everyone is feeling great. It’s just a good time to get hot, for sure.”
That gives Roberts a lot more flexibility when it comes to managing games. Taking into account a pitcher’s workload and how they’re throwing the baseball, while also keeping the big picture in mind of what the next few days might look like, Roberts layers all of that in when deciding whether to push his starter or go to the bullpen.
The starters being as hot as they are right now — and the bullpen struggling as much as it has been — has helped Roberts lean more toward the former in his decision-making.
“It’s nuanced,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot to it. But I think certainly I’ve known right now where these guys are at: They’re in a good spot to be pushed.”
As for Glasnow, he’s not trying to make the moment any bigger than it needs to be. Snell and Yamamoto did their thing. Now, it’s his turn to try and do the same.
“Just super impressive,” Glasnow said. “I think just to start a series like that on the road and to pitch two really good games and come out with two wins is huge. So I’m in a good spot for tomorrow, and, yeah, I’ll do what I do, do my game-planning and then go out and, hopefully, pitch well.”
