Dodgers Manager Singles Out One Pitcher As Anchor of Rotation

Oct 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) walks to the mound in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during game four of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dodgers trip to the World Series was paved by consistently excellent starting pitching throughout the postseason.

Over the course of the NL Wild Card, Divisional Series and Championship Series rounds, the Dodgers have relied on their elite starting rotation of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who have pitched 70 percent of the innings so far this postseason. In that stretch, those four have held a 1.40 ERA and have held hitters to a .132 batting average.

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In the Dodgers' NLCS sweep of the Brewers, their starting rotation's dominance was most on display, as the group gave up just two earned runs across four games. Their performance validated the confidence the Dodgers front office had in their heavy investment in the starting pitching department.

“We knew going into October that the strength of our club was gonna be our starters,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the Dodgers clinched a World Series berth. “For them to do what they did (in the NLCS) eclipsed even our expectations.”

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A key piece of the Dodgers' starting rotation has been Blake Snell, who the Dodgers signed to a five-year, $182 million contract over the offseason. Snell missed significant time during the regular season after he was placed on the 60-day injured list in early April and didn't return to the rotation until early August. However, now that he's back on the mound, Snell has been nearly unhittable.

In three postseason starts, Snell has allowed just two runs off of six hits and five walks over 21 innings. In Game 1 of the NLCS, Snell pitched eight innings, allowing just one hit as he earned his third win of the postseason and lowered his ERA to 0.86.

“With every great starting staff, you got to have that anchor,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of the World Series. “And Blake’s always been a finisher. So obviously starting the way the season started, but having him get back to pitch the way he did sort of raised the bar for everyone.”

Snell will once again open a series for the Dodgers, as he has earned the start for Game 1 of the World Series, which will take place Friday night at 5 p.m. PT in Toronto.

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