This time, they aren’t overthinking. This time, they don’t have a choice.
The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the opening game of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Saturday but not necessarily because they trust him more than Jack Flaherty.
In the regular season, Yamamoto never once pitched a traditional five-day cycle. Flaherty did.
If the Dodgers stuck to their original plan of starting Flaherty in Game 1 and Yamamoto in Game 2, only Flaherty would be available to return for a potential Game 5. By trading their places in their rotation, both would be available, with one starting and the other pitching in relief.
The implication: The Dodgers know their bullpen could be completely spent by then.
Read more: Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start for Dodgers in Game 1 of NLDS vs. Padres
October is here, and the Dodgers once again have a starting pitching problem. Not even spending more than $500 million last winter could spare them their annual tradition of entering the postseason without any idea of what they will get from their rotation.
The Dodgers won more regular-season games than any team in the majors but are being talked about around the sport as if they’re underdogs in this NLDS. Starting pitching is why.
Yamamoto, their $325-million rookie import from Japan, has pitched only 16 innings in the last 3½ months. Flaherty, their prized trade deadline acquisition, experienced a noticeable decrease in fastball velocity in his last two regular-season appearances.
At this point, the most likely candidate to give them a quality start might be Walker Buehler. On the whole, the former All-Star hasn’t pitched well in his first season back from his second Tommy John operation, but he limited the Padres to one run in five innings in the Dodgers’ division-clinching victory last week.
Buehler is expected to start Game 3. The Dodgers are expected to resort to a bullpen game involving rookie Landon Knack if the series reaches Game 4.
This could be shaping into the same old story for the Dodgers. Their rotation might be a little better than it was last year and a little worse than it was two years ago, but they’re more or less in the…