Los Angeles — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jack Flaherty is scheduled to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend, and rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday the team has not confirmed plans for Games 3 and 4, but Walker Buehler and rookie Landon Knack will participate.
The Dodgers will face the NL wild card winners of the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres, who are up 1-0 in the best-of-three series.
The best-of-five NLDS is held Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Yamamoto has made just four starts since coming off the injured list, missing nearly three months with an arm injury. The right-hander allowed two runs in his final adjustment against Colorado last weekend. He pitched five innings, his longest since returning.
Yamamoto may be an MLB rookie, but he has plenty of big-game experience in his native Japan, including pitching in the 2022 Japan Series and leading the Orix Buffaloes to victory and helping Japan win gold at the Tokyo Olympics. .
“I don’t think Yama will be embarrassed in big moments,” Gomes said in a video conference. “Anyway, I think he will succeed.”
Flaherty joined the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers at the July trade deadline. The deal brought him back to his hometown. The right-hander has a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings over 10 starts for the Dodgers.
Shohei Ohtani will continue doing bullpen sessions during his rehabilitation from his second elbow surgery a year ago, but has no plans to face live hitters, Gomez said.
“We don’t expect him to pitch in the postseason,” the GM said.
Instead, the Dodgers will rely on Ohtani’s bat to hit, as he did in his record-setting first season with the team.
The Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in baseball (98 wins, 64 losses), earned the NL’s No. 1 seed, and secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It was a goodbye to them and once again the team took a five-day vacation to start the NLDS. Layoffs have not been kind to them over the past two years. They were eliminated in the division series by Arizona last year and lost 3-1 to the Padres in 2022.
“Our guys are exhausted,” coach Dave Roberts said of the early exit.
Roberts noticed a different attitude in the clubhouse this time.
“You see more hunger, you see more dominance. “I like it,” he said. “You can’t say guys aren’t prepared or trying or don’t get the attention, but the level of intensity is different.”
The Dodgers could actually use the extra vacation time this year. That’s because multiple players are attempting treatment and overburdened bullpens need rest.
All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Miguel Rojas are recovering after recent injuries. Roberts said he was confident Freeman would be in the starting lineup, although he could be limited defensively with a right ankle injury.
Freeman is taking swings in the batting cage and will likely face live pitching on Thursday or Friday.
Rojas suffered a torn left adductor muscle. He received an injection last week and is expected to play, although he will need surgery after the season.
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