LOS ANGELES — The 2024 Dodgers won the World Series by using three starting pitchers in traditional roles and a bevy of gutsy bullpen performances to fill in the gaps.
What a difference a year makes.
This year, the Dodgers are not only carrying a healthy rotation into the postseason, but it’s perhaps one of the deepest groups of starting pitchers they’ve had in some time. Up first will be Blake Snell, who was tabbed as L.A.’s starter for Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against Cincinnati on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will follow in Game 2 on Wednesday, and although the plan for a potential Game 3 on Thursday has not yet been finalized, manager Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani would probably take the ball.
That’s not to mention Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan, who will be in the bullpen during the Wild Card Series, and Clayton Kershaw, who is unavailable this round after starting on Sunday but would make the Division Series roster if the Dodgers advance.
“This is as good as a starting staff I’ve had going into the postseason by far,” Roberts said last week.
It will start with Snell, who joined the Dodgers on a five-year, $182 million deal this past offseason. The two-time Cy Young Award winner spent four months on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation, but he finished out the season strong once he returned in August, going 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts overall.
Snell did not pitch against the Reds this season. The last time he saw them, he tossed his first career no-hitter in Cincinnati as a member of the Giants in August 2024.
“That was so long ago,” Snell said. “They’ve changed. I’ve changed. A lot has changed. And this is a postseason game, so the stakes are higher. So it’s going to be a more exciting game. It’s going to be a chess match. They’ve got good hitters. Guys that are hot. It’s going to be a good matchup.”
The last time Snell pitched in the postseason was 2022, when his Padres made it to the NL Championship Series. He has a 3.33 ERA in 12 postseason outings (10 starts).
Snell’s most infamous postseason start came against his current team during the 2020 World Series. Then a member of the Rays, Snell dominated the Dodgers in Game 6 — but was pulled from the game in the sixth. The move backfired immediately, as L.A. rallied for the lead that inning and clinched the championship that night.
Now, he’ll take the ball for the Dodgers in the postseason for the first time.
“The whole reason I came here was to pitch in October,” Snell said. “To challenge myself personally. To face the best when the stakes are the highest, that’s what I’ve always wanted. I couldn’t be more excited to be in this position.”
Snell’s return to health was transformative for the Dodgers’ six-man rotation. He brought the unit back to full strength, and the performance spoke for itself. Since Aug. 1, Dodgers starters posted a 3.35 ERA, which ranked second only to the Guardians (3.30 ERA) in that span.
In September, the Dodgers’ starters took their dominance a step further, holding opponents to a .173 batting average, the lowest mark by a rotation in one month in at least the Modern Era.
Should the Dodgers advance beyond the Wild Card round, they’ll only need four starting pitchers for the best-of-five NLDS. Glasnow figures to join the rotation, meaning Sheehan and Kershaw would stay in the ‘pen.
That could help lift a bullpen that struggled this year, combining to post a 4.27 ERA that is tied with the Phillies for the worst of the six National League postseason teams.
“We’re definitely deeper there,” shortstop Mookie Betts said of the rotation, compared with last year. “And guys have been pitching well. They feed off of each other. The front office did an amazing job giving us this type of staff, and the boys have done an amazing job in performing.
“I’m sure they’ll be excited and ready to go and continue their performance, and I think that’s going to give us a really good shot.”
