The Los Angeles Dodgers have determined which of their pitchers will open up their 2024 MLB Playoff run beginning on Saturday.
Dodgers opt to have Yoshinobu Yamamoto open up NLDS against the Padres
The Dodgers announced earlier in the week that stand-in ace Jack Flaherty and rookie sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto would kick things off respectively on the mound for their first two postseason games. As of Thursday, the franchise declared that it will be Yamamoto who will get the very first taste of action against the San Diego Padres, and not Flaherty. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had this to say about the lineup change, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio:
“Yoshi hasn’t pitched on regular,” Friedman said. “Jack’s more accustomed to it. Depending on ‘pen usage throughout, it allows us that flexibility in Game 5, if there is one. So it’s just about having more options.”
Yamamoto has momentum he can carry over into the playoffs from his last four starts
Yamamoto was on a tear to begin his 2024 campaign before going down with a shoulder injury that kept him out for nearly three months between June 15 and Sept. 10. The Japanese star finished the campaign with a noteworthy 3.00 ERA and 2.61 FIP along with 105 strikeouts across 90 innings pitched.
Moreover, he closed the regular season going an impressive 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in his last four starts post-recovery. Yamamoto will look to carry this momentum over into a daunting playoff series against a Padres team that leads the MLB in batting average (.263) and hits (1,456), and sports the fewest strikeouts from the regular season (1,077).
Yamamoto also has championship experience from his career in Japan
Though only a rookie, the 26-year-old talent has championship experience from his days playing in Nippon Professional Baseball in his native country of Japan. He won the 2022 Japan Series, exemplifying his familiarity with playing in and delivering on big stages.
While the World Series is a step up from the Japan Series, the NPB is still one of the most respected and competitive baseball leagues in the world, with top talent being heavily recruited over to the American ranks on an annual basis.
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Los Angeles expects to feature their $325 million man once every five days, so he’ll look to keep his juices flowing when he takes the mound on Saturday. He has not seen north of five innings since June 7, so how long he lasts into Game 1 of the NLDS will likely be the story of his debut MLB playoff outing with the Dodgers.
Afterward, Flaherty will take the mound for Game 2 and will almost certainly appear in Game 4 for the Dodgers as well. They’ll need both elite talents to shoulder the bulk of the burden amid their injury-riddled rotation.
