LOS ANGELES — Every deck of cards has a full set, but it’s rare within a Major League rotation: four aces.
Last year, the Dodgers won the World Series in spite of their shoestring rotation. This year, their four starting pitchers have been the driving force behind their bid to become the first team in a quarter century to defend its title.
“We knew going into October that the strength of this club was going to be our starters,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the NLCS. “But for them to do what they did eclipsed even our expectations. It was incredible theater to watch them pitch in these four games and pass the baton to one another.”
Manager Dave Roberts announced on Tuesday that Snell and Yamamoto will start the first two World Series games at Rogers Centre. The Dodgers haven’t set the rotation for the rest of the Fall Classic, but it stands to reason that they’ll use the same order as in the NLCS — with Glasnow in Game 3 on Monday and Ohtani in Game 4 on Tuesday — allowing all four to pitch on the rest they’re accustomed to.
Snell would have four days off between Game 1 and a potential Game 5. The same goes for Glasnow between Games 3 and 7. Yamamoto would have five days in between Games 2 and 6, leaving Ohtani making one start in Game 4 and possibly being available in relief should the series go the distance.
That configuration worked out in the NLCS, when the Dodgers needed only one turn of the rotation to sweep the Brewers:
“Honestly, I’m always thinking, ‘I hope the starter goes the distance today,'” closer Roki Sasaki cracked in Japanese during the NLCS.
The Dodgers certainly wouldn’t mind an encore performance in the World Series. No matter how they’re shuffled, it’s a gauntlet for opposing teams.
“Each guy has their pitch, their stuff. Each guy has a varying piece of being unique for themselves,” rookie catcher Dalton Rushing said. “I think that’s what obviously, one, makes them good, and two, helps everyone learn from each other. … There’s a new standard that those guys have set for themselves.”
Here’s a look at each Dodgers starter’s most effective pitch this postseason:
Snell leans heaviest on his four-seamer during the regular season, but he’s thrown his changeup a hair more this postseason. And for good reason: opposing hitters have gone just 2-for-22 (.091) against it, missing on 38 of 58 swings (65.5%).
“I pitch off of what they’re telling me,” Snell said after his NLCS Game 1 start. “So I just felt like they were really aggressive to a certain pitch, and it seemed to be that way.”
While Yamamoto reset himself in one sense by dyeing his hair darker after a subpar NLDS Game 3 start against the Phillies (three runs in four-plus innings), the real difference-maker when he tossed his complete game in Milwaukee was that he had mastery over his splitter. Brewers hitters swung through it eight times and took three for strikes (32% CSW rate).
“This guy’s split looks like a heater,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Comes out of the same tunnel. It looks exactly the same. He’s got an impeccable delivery. He doesn’t miss a lot. And the ball shows up as a heater — bang, goes down. And his heater shows up as a heater and then rises.”
Although Glasnow has seen some inconsistency in commanding his slider, it has been nasty when he’s had it working. Opponents are 1-for-11 (.091) against it this postseason and have whiffed on 10 of 20 swings (50%). It also pairs nicely with his sinker, which he’s used to help him get back on track when his command lapses.
“I leaned into the sinker a lot. I was ripping off everything,” Glasnow said after NLCS Game 3. “And it’s one pitch when I’m a little late that I can get back into the zone if I’m a tad bit late.”
During the regular season, Ohtani threw his splitter only 4.6% of the time. He’s still throwing it sparingly during the postseason, but to devastating effect: Hitters have taken 10 swings at the splitter and only connected on it once. Using the splitter as a weapon tends to open up the rest of his arsenal.
That was the case in Ohtani’s two-way performance to remember in NLCS Game 4. As pitching coach Mark Prior said, once he got his feel for the splitter, “he was able to do whatever he wanted.”
