One number helps explain why the Dodgers are saving Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 3 of the National League Division Series: 0.55.
That was the ERA Yamamoto carried into Saturday, Oct. 3, in three career starts at Truist Park, where he has given up just one run in 16.1 innings. It’s the best mark he has posted at any MLB venue where he has made more than one start, and it gives a little more shape to what looked like a surprising decision when Dave Roberts made it official that Yamamoto would start Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves.
On paper, the choice has some bite to it. Yamamoto led the Dodgers in wins with 14, starts with 28, innings pitched with 185.0 and strikeouts with 182 during the regular season, and he finished with a 2.53 ERA. Then there was the postseason run: he was the MVP of the 2025 World Series, starting Game 6 and closing Game 7 in one of the most remarkable pitching performances the sport has seen.
Even with that résumé, Roberts is lining up Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell ahead of him in the series. The matchup itself offers one clue. The Braves ranked 22nd in MLB in wOBA against left-handed pitchers and 11th against right-handers, which helps explain why Roberts chose to open with lefties in Games 1 and 2.
Roberts said the decision was driven more by the bigger picture than by any one game.
"It's more about just knowing that they're all going to pitch this series," Roberts said of his top three starters. "You can put those three or four guys in a hat and kind of make a decision, but I think that with that, I think just kind of looking out potentially, that just sets up the rotation and Yamamoto better looking forward.
"But not discounting this series, because you've got to win this series first, but again, you start from the fact that they're all going to pitch -- the three are going to pitch for sure, guaranteed to pitch, and then what sets them up going forward as well."
Walt Weiss, meanwhile, said the Braves are well aware of the pattern. Teams have spent much of the season lining up their left-handed starters against Atlanta, and he’s seen it happen with both starters and bullpen arms.
"We're used to it. Everyone lines up their lefties against us.
It's happened all year. It's happened with starters.
It's happened with the opposing bullpen. Even during the year, they'd call up lefties for the series.
So we're pretty used to this."
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Blake Snells afternoon never found a rhythm, and the Dodgers could not do enough offensively to take advantage of the opening it created. Los Angeles dropped a 3-2 decision to the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, a result that evened the series at one game apiece and left the Dodgers searching for the timely hit that has been missing too often in October.
Snell issued a season-high five walks, and the game turned on a chaotic stretch that included a wild pitch from Braves reliever Kris Bubic before Atlanta grabbed the go-ahead run. Freddie Freeman also came through for the Braves with a home run, his first since Sept. 2, adding another swing that helped flip the momentum and leave the Dodgers with a split instead of control. [Read more 🡒]
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The concern centers on center fielder Andy Pages, whose postseason struggles have become hard to ignore, and that has opened the door for Enrique Hernandez to potentially step in and give the lineup a different look. Hernandez has earned a reputation as a reliable October bat, which is part of what makes this decision so interesting for the Dodgers, who need more than just better at-bats now - they need a spark that can change the feel of the series. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Real Andy Pages Lineup Dilemma
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Dave Roberts has already made one adjustment by limiting Pages ability to challenge calls, a small but telling sign that the club is trying to manage both the player and the moment. If the struggles continue, the Dodgers do not appear short on alternatives, which only adds to the tension around Pages spot. In October, even a young hitter with legitimate upside can find himself one rough stretch away from a lineup debate. [Read more 🡒]