The Dodgers have set up their NLCS rotation exactly the way they wanted, and it starts with Tarik Skubal taking the ball in Game 1 against the Brewers before Yoshinobu Yamamoto follows in Game 2 in Milwaukee.
Manager Dave Roberts said the plan on Friday via Zoom, and the setup gives Los Angeles the kind of control teams dream about after wrapping up a Division Series in four games. Skubal will handle the opener, while Yamamoto is lined up for the second game of the series.
Skubal’s last outing was a sharp one. He struck out seven over six innings in his win against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS. This will be his fourth Game 1 start, and he has been a steady postseason presence throughout his career: a 1.97 ERA in seven playoff starts, 63 strikeouts, seven unintentional walks and at least six innings pitched every time out.
Yamamoto brings his own postseason résumé into the matchup. He added another memorable chapter in Game 7 of last year’s World Series, recording the final eight outs one day after throwing six innings in Game 6. He is also the only pitcher in postseason history to win five straight road games while allowing no more than one run in each, a run that began in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS in Milwaukee.
Before his NLDS start, Yamamoto said he was prepared for whatever role the Dodgers needed from him.
“I’m going to get myself ready for any situation. If they want me to go out, then I go out,” Yamamoto said, with interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.
“But for me, just those are key things for me. Postseason is just focusing on the game right in front of me.”
Still, his workload has followed a familiar pattern. All 86 of Yamamoto’s MLB starts, including 10 in the postseason, have come with at least five days of rest.
He gets that again for Game 2 after striking out 10 over seven innings in Atlanta on Tuesday. The schedule also gives the Dodgers a chance to position him for Game 6 on five days’ rest if the series goes that far.
“It’s more looking at how he’s gotten his rest this year, and what gives him the best chance to pitch potentially two games, Games 2 and 6,” Roberts said. “With the off days and the game schedule, that’s probably the best way to manage it.”
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