LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers' elite starting pitching was the driving force when they successfully defended their World Series title in 2025. As the back-to-back champions bid for a three-peat, their four-headed monster of a rotation has already been just as impactful four games into their postseason.
Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow recorded a combined 1.69 ERA (four earned runs in 21 1/3 innings) in four games in the NL Division Series against the Braves, the second-lowest mark among this year's postseason rotations. The Rays' starters hold a slight edge with a 1.65 ERA (three earned runs in 16 1/3 innings) in three games.
"To see it play out in the way it did was not surprising," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "But just the way they went out and competed, the way they challenged each other, we're excited for this next round and for them to get us deep into games and be a huge part of us, hopefully, winning eight more games."
As the second seed in the NL field, the Dodgers had a bye week and were able to reset their rotation to their liking for the postseason. Because they won the NLDS in four games, they'll be able to tweak their starting four again ahead of their NL Championship Series against the Brewers, which begins on Sunday at American Family Field.
Here's how manager Dave Roberts might set the rotation for the first four games:
Game 1: Skubal
NLDS Game 1: 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K's
Skubal would have started a winner-take-all Game 5 against the Braves on Friday, but the Dodgers took care of business in four. So they'll send their big Trade Deadline reinforcement to the hill for the NLCS opener against the Brewers, who were among the other teams interested in acquiring him this summer.
Milwaukee also has yet to officially announce its rotation order, but Jacob Misiorowski appears lined up to start opposite Skubal, setting up a must-see matchup between the back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner and this year's presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner.
Game 2: Yamamoto
NLDS Game 3: 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 10 K's
The Dodgers raised eyebrows by waiting until Game 3 to start Yamamoto in the NLDS. They actually made that decision with the NLCS in mind, as Yamamoto will likely jump ahead of Snell to start Game 2 on his usual five days' rest. Yamamoto would then be available to start a potential Game 6 on his normal rest as well.
Yamamoto has never started on fewer than five days' rest with the Dodgers, but he won last year's World Series MVP honors after closing out Game 7 on zero days' rest. The right-hander said he would be open to pitching on shorter rest and/or in relief again this postseason, but L.A. will try to keep him working on his typical rest unless the situation necessitates it.
Game 3: Snell
NLDS Game 2: 3 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 K's
Snell showed some rust when he started NLDS Game 2, which was just his third appearance in the span of 2 1/2 weeks because of left groin tightness that flared up in mid-September. He would be working on extended rest if the Dodgers push him to Game 3, but having some more time to fine-tune his delivery might be helpful given how little he has pitched recently.
Game 4: Glasnow
NLDS Game 4: 4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 5 BB, 5 K's
Remarkably, the Dodgers are 7-0 when Glasnow pitches in a postseason game for them. That Glasnow is the No. 4 starter in this rotation speaks to the depth of the group, as he could be the ace on many other staffs around the Majors.