Skubal

ATLANTA — Who would you rather have starting an October game for the Dodgers than Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

No one, right? And you wouldn’t be the only one thinking that.

Tarik Skubal thought so too.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Skubal he would start the team’s playoff opener, Skubal responded with a question.

“Why?”

Skubal was honored with the assignment, but he also was worried.

“I was like, ‘Is Yoshi OK?’” Skubal said Tuesday.

He is, as the Atlanta Braves found out the hard way. Yamamoto pitched the Dodgers to within one game of the National League Championship Series, setting a postseason high with 10 strikeouts in a 3-1 victory.

In seven innings, Yamamoto gave up one run on four hits, all of them singles. In only one of those innings did Atlanta advance a runner beyond first base.

“I just have a lot of respect for him and for what he means here in L.A. and what he has accomplished here,” Skubal said. “I know we have a lot of good starting pitching, and I know there is a lot of thought that goes into it, but I just assumed he would be the Game 1 guy.”

You could say Yamamoto rises to the October occasion, but Mookie Betts would not say that, if only because Yamamoto rises to the occasion on just about every occasion.

“I don’t see it any different,” Betts said. “I think he does it all year, too.

“He just has so many weapons. He throws a lot of strikes with a lot of pitches. He’s hard to hit.”

Skubal, a two-time Cy Young winner, is brilliant in October.

In seven postseason appearances, he has a 1.97 earned-run average. He gave up five runs in one inning, and he has given up five runs in the other 44⅔ innings. The Dodgers’ grand prize from the trade deadline was hardly a reckless choice to start Game 1 of the division series.

Yamamoto has a 2.14 ERA in 11 playoff appearances, the fourth-lowest of any pitcher since 1903 to make at least 10 postseason starts. He drains the life out of an opposing crowd as well as anyone in major league history, with a 1.42 ERA in six road playoff outings.

“I’m a fan of this game as much as I am a player,” Skubal said. “So, when I watch guys do really impressive things and do great things, I understand what it takes because I also play the game.

“When he goes out and performs like he does, it’s almost like I expect it. And now, being a teammate of his, it’s not surprising at all why he goes and performs like he does, because the way he prepares is as good as anybody in this game. It’s just a ton of fun to be on the same side of it.”

Yamamoto admitted to feeling nervous, even if you would never sense it from watching him. That’s part of the way he prepares, too.

“During the preparation and before the game, then I do get nervous,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter, “but at that time, I personally think that’s very important.”

And then the game starts, the nerves dissipate, and the opponent is methodically slayed.

“He just has a way to just make pitches, calm his heartbeat,” Roberts said.

Highlights from the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS.

The Dodgers have played seven postseason series with Yamamoto, and they have won them all.

We’ll always cherish last October. In 76 regular-season starts with the Dodgers, he has one complete game. In back-to-back starts last October, he threw a complete game both times.

Of the Dodgers’ four victories in the World Series, Yamamoto earned three — including Game 6 as a starter and Game 7 as a reliever, with no day of rest in between.

“I got goosebumps watching that,” Skubal said. “I didn’t know how he was doing it. That’s what I was thinking: How is this going to work?

“His stuff looked even better than it did in Game 6, which is insane to say. But it did. When I was watching on TV, I was like, ‘Holy … he looks better today than he did yesterday, and he did pretty well the day before.’ It’s incredible.

“Hopefully, we’re not having to do that again to him.”

That is one big reason why the Dodgers acquired Skubal. If Tyler Glasnow wins Wednesday — and the Dodgers won in all six of Glasnow’s postseason appearances last October — they are off to the NLCS.

The Game 1 starter could be Skubal, followed in Game 2 by Yamamoto. That’s a tall order for opposing batters and, so far, a winning order for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are better than you. They’re smarter than you. They’re richer and deeper and more popular than you. You know it, they know it, there’s no point pretending otherwise.

So, yes, they went into the National League Divisional Series looking past the threadbare Atlanta Braves and thinking about the National League Championship Series.

Who does that? In the playoffs?

Your two-time World Series champions with the world’s best starting pitching rotation and a 1-0 NLDS series lead, that’s who.

The way the Dodgers did the math, it made sense to save their ace of aces, Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who last postseason went 5-1, had an ERA of 1.45 and 33 strikeouts in six appearances and won the World Series MVP — for Game 3 of the NLDS.

Not for the tone-setting Game 1 and, potentially, Game 5 on regular rest.

But Game 3.

Because to the Dodgers, that’s not even much of a calculated risk. It was a math problem specific to them, before they beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in Game 1 in 100-degree heat Saturday afternoon.

They figured they’d be able to throw two consecutive left-handers at the lefty-averse Braves lineup, starting Saturday with recently acquired two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, followed Sunday by Blake Snell, also a two-time Cy Young winner.

Additionally, this way they could have Yamamoto pitch Tuesday on the road, where his ERA is 1.77 instead of at home, where it’s 3.13. And where he’s given up 14 home runs compared with six on the road, where he’s made four fewer starts.

But mostly the Dodgers’ calculus was that having Yamamoto pitch Game 3 means it will line up so that they’ll have him for Game 2 in the NLCS and, if necessary, Game 6 against the Milwaukee Brewers or San Diego Padres. (Or, if you really want to plan ahead — and the Dodgers with their leaky bullpen absolutely should not — for Game 1 of the World Series.)

“That just sets up the rotation and Yamamoto better looking forward,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained before Saturday’s game.

“Not discounting this series, because you’ve got to win this series first, but you start from the fact that they’re all going to pitch — the three [Skubal, Snell and Yamamoto] are going to pitch for sure … and then what sets them up going forward.”

It feels like a faux pas, to be that forward-thinking, and to be saying the quiet part out loud!

“If you can kind of line it up in such a way to give guys ample rest, it puts you in a better position for more options down the road,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of some of the math we had.”

I mean, it adds up. And for these Dodgers — whose fourth starter, Tyler Glasnow, was a key cog in last year’s World Series-winning rotation — it’s a fair assessment.

Though it’s nice of Roberts to pay enough lip service that he’s not totally discounting the best-of-five current series they’re in.

Predictably on Saturday, Skubal, who previously had a 2.04 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP and 56 strikeouts in 39⅔ playoff innings for the Detroit Tigers, brought his own October heat.

The 29-year-old from Kingman, Ariz., gave up just one run and two hits, walked two and struck out seven — giving him 64 in the postseason, the second most in his first seven postseason appearances behind only Bob Gibson (74), per MLB’s Sarah Langs.

Skubal retired 15 consecutive, hit 101 on the radar gun in the second inning and didn’t have a three-ball count until the fifth inning.

“We knew,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said, “it was going to be a rough ride.”

But Weiss did not know, immediately after Saturday’s loss, when he’d be able to deploy his sole ace, 37-year-old Chris Sale, the 10-time All-Star who just pitched in the Braves’ Game 3 wild-card closeout.

“To me it’s not that big a deal when he pitches,” Weiss said. “The Dodgers can’t win it in two.”

A true statement and a matter of fact: The Dodgers can’t win in two, but they’re not shy about expecting to win.

“It’s prudent to kind of map out potentially how they could line up,” Roberts said Friday. “And that’s just doing your due diligence.

“We are very fortunate because we have four guys essentially that you could really kind of pick through to figure out what’s the best way to deploy all four starters, that’s the exercise. But it starts with having four talented guys.”

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, reveled in the notion that his club might actually be disproving the rule that you can never have enough pitching — at least when it comes to their elite quartet of starters.

And that, Friedman said, “is very impactful for quality of life.”

And the Dodgers aren’t afraid to say it.

When the Dodgers acquired left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, they expected him to be a big part of their postseason plans. But they didn’t necessarily pencil him in as their Game 1 starter.

After mulling over their options this week, the Dodgers are expected to announce Friday that Skubal will take the mound in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, confirmed a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Their plans for a sweltering 1 p.m. start Saturday against the Braves were first reported by the Athletic.

The rest of the Dodgers’ rotation order was not immediately clear, but right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who had seemed a strong option for Game 1 after his World Series heroics last year — pitched to batters during the Dodgers’ workout Wednesday. If he takes his usual five days of rest, that would line him up to pitch Game 3 in Atlanta on Tuesday. So, left-hander Blake Snell could pitch Game 2 Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

“To be honest, we can kind of really put all four guys in a hat and run them out there,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “But I think there is going to be more thought behind it.”

Skubal, who the Dodgers acquired from the Tigers for three prospects, has posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts for Los Angeles. He finished his regular season with a gem against the Giants last week: seven three-hit innings on just 75 pitches.

The Dodgers did not need Tarik Skubal to win the National League West. They traded for him to help them win a third consecutive World Series.

Their legacy is at stake. So is his.

That could be hyperbole. Skubal turns 30 next month, already the winner of two Cy Young awards, one of them unanimously. He could sign the largest contract of any pitcher in major league history this fall. His career might be only at its halfway point, and already we can say he’ll be remembered as a star.

So I asked him if his career would feel somehow empty if he did not win a World Series. No one in Anaheim thinks any less of Mike Trout, and no one in San Diego thinks any less of Tony Gwynn, because neither Hall of Famer won a World Series.

Skubal thought about it. Yes, he said, his career would feel diminished without a championship.

“I think winning is the most important thing, so I think that’s fair to say,” Skubal told me.

“If I retire and I don’t have one, that will definitely be something that I don’t know when I will live it down.”

The Dodgers imported him for five or six starts in October, the first of them this weekend. I wasn’t sure of the right noun to use to capture his feelings: Excitement? Pressure? Responsibility?

“I think all of those things,” he said.

How so?

“I’ve grown to appreciate expectations from teammates, from fans, from organizations,” he said. “I’ve come to appreciate pressure. Early on in my career, there wasn’t much of that. It was more just kind of finding my footing, which I’m grateful for. It helped me learn a lot about myself.

“Having the expectation of being a team that is going to win the World Series, and me being a part of that, is something that I’ve come to really appreciate. I’ve come to appreciate all that stuff. As much as they can be looked at as negative things, or stress-inducing things, I’ve come to really appreciate those things, because I haven’t had that for my entire career.”

As soon as the Dodgers traded for Skubal two months ago, he was delighted to receive a text message from a pitcher who wore the weight of expectations throughout his career.

When his Detroit Tigers opened last season at Dodger Stadium, Skubal asked teammate Jack Flaherty to arrange a meeting with Clayton Kershaw.

“Honestly,” Skubal said, “I wanted to get a jersey from him.”

The Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings in his final start of the regular season last week against the San Francisco Giants.

(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

They talked pitching too, of course, and stayed in touch. When the Dodgers landed Skubal, Kershaw’s welcome text led to him sharing advice not just about the team itself but about navigating the notorious L.A. roads to Dodger Stadium, and various neighborhoods that Skubal, his wife and two young boys might enjoy.

For Kershaw, the postseason was a widely publicized menace throughout the previous decade. In 2019, after he inherited a two-run lead in the deciding game of the division series, Kewshaw gave up home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto.

After the game, Kershaw said, “Everything people say is true right now about the postseason.”

In 2024, the Tigers were five innings from the American League Championship Series, leading 1-0 in the deciding game of the division series, with Skubal on the mound. Three singles, a hit batter and a grand slam later, the Tigers trailed for good.

“I felt pretty responsible for the season ending,” Skubal said.

Kershaw earned his redemption in 2020, winning both of his World Series starts as the Dodgers won their first championship since 1988. That title lifted the postseason burden off Kershaw, and I wondered whether Skubal might feel the same way if he leads these Dodgers to a parade.

Skubal rejected the premise.

“I don’t really buy into that narrative with Kersh, the postseason struggles,” Skubal said.

Kershaw’s 41 postseason appearances include four starts on short rest and nine relief outings. In 2013, he pitched a combined 259 innings between the regular season and playoffs. In 2015, that number was 246 innings.

“It takes a superhuman to be held to the standard he was being held to, in the biggest of moments,” Skubal said. “I think he was great. He did everything he could for his team. He wore it out there sometimes. Chasing box scores and stuff is kind of unfair to judge guys on, because I’m sure he was pitching through some stuff and grinding through some stuff.

“But he had to do it, because he was Clayton Kershaw.”

Kershaw’s postseason earned-run average: 4.62. For Skubal, in six postseason appearances, all of them starts: 2.04. In that one five-run inning, he gave up more runs than he has in the other 38-2/3 innings of his postseason career.

After he gave up those five runs, he returned for one more inning and retired the side in order.

“That moment solidified who I thought I am, in terms of how I responded to that failure, how I responded to that adversity,” he said. “It’s weird to say and it’s probably weird to portray, and I don’t know how many people it’s going to resonate with, but that’s what I feel.”

Right time, right place: If Skubal wants to win a World Series, where else would he rather be?

“For him?” pitcher Blake Snell said. “There’s no better time for anybody than right now.”

The Dodgers acquired infielder Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2024 trade deadline. For Edman, that’s two Octobers and two parades.

“In St. Louis, I think we were hovering around .500,” Edman said. “I found myself traded here and I was like, ‘OK, all of a sudden I’m on the team with the best record in baseball right now, going for a ring just about every single year.’

“That’s the expectation we have here. There’s definitely a level of excitement.”

Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, said he could see the joy in Skubal on the day the Dodgers celebrated the division title.

“There’s also a difference between being on a team like the Tigers — and nothing against that organization — where the goal really isn’t to win the World Series. It’s the hope,” Roberts said. “But being here and seeing the standard that we have and it’s like: ‘I’m here to win the World Series. This team has the best chance to win the World Series, and I get to be a part of it.’

“So I fully see him, now that he is completely immersed into our culture, where the first month was trying to feel his way: ‘Where do I fit in? I’m this hired gun.’ And now it’s like he’s one of the guys.”

Skubal insists that he has not really thought about his free agency, that his focus is on the here and now, and on each start as it comes. That means this month could be his last in Dodger blue, and that means this really might be his best chance to win a World Series.

“I don’t really know if I like the verbiage of that, thinking I must win this year,” he said. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Fans of the other 29 teams didn’t necessarily think it was fair that the Dodgers got Skubal. Owners of the other 29 teams are trying to stop them, or at least slow them down, by demanding a salary cap. No matter. One of the co-owners of Skubal’s current employer has a saying about this here and now: It’s winnin’ time.

SAN FRANCISCO — The result of Blake Snell’s final pitch Saturday, a fastball that San Francisco Giants third baseman Shay Whitcomb lined into left field, mattered far less than the fact that the left-hander had passed the 75-pitch mark without incident.

Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández threw out Whitcomb at second. And Snell walked off the field to complete a four-inning start in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win.

“Definitely needed to pitch today,” Snell said of his first start in a week and a half. “Definitely showed that. I was trying to go up and in, I was missing up and away. Even the last pitch of the game, I try to go up and in and miss right down the middle. I don’t know the last time I did that. It’s been a while.”

The Dodgers (99-62) entered locked in as a No. 2 seed for the playoffs. So, the stakes of their last two games of the regular season boiled down to health and preparation for the postseason. There was no better example of that give-and-take than Snell’s five-hit, one-run start.

Because Snell left his previous start with tightness in his left groin, the Dodgers planned for a short outing Saturday, prioritizing his health for the postseason.

“We were confident,” Roberts said of Snell’s recovery from the injury. “But it’s still good to see it. And it’s good also that we got it out of the way, that rust off — versus whatever game in the postseason, then he’s rusty, and you’ve got to kind of pick up the pieces in a playoff game. So I thought today it was really best-case scenario.”

The only run Snell gave up was the result of a double, stolen base and sacrifice fly in the third. He had three strikeouts and no walks.

Snell’s changeup was about two miles per hour faster than usual, something he wants to address before his next start. And he wants to hone the release on his curveball. But his slider, the pitch he would be most worried about if his groin injury wasn’t resolved, had promising velocity and shape.

“To throw a 92 [mph] with good horizontal break, and to see the trust I had in the back leg when throwing that, that’s a really good sign,” Snell said.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell throws against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning Saturday.

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Snell said he thinks he’s fully past the injury, and didn’t even think about it during the start.

“Definitely happy about where I’m at,” he said. “Now, it’s a big week for me. Catch has to be great, bullpens have to be great. I’ve really got to focus on getting in my legs, and the consistency of every throw. So to be able to pitch today and learn all of that is bigger than I could ever really express.”

Snell, who missed time because of a late spring training build-up and arthroscopic surgery in May to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, finished the regular season with just 42⅔ innings pitched. But he posted an impressive 1.90 ERA in that time.

The team considered replacing Snell’s start Saturday with a live batting practice session, Roberts said, which would have still given Snell feedback from hitters, but in a more controlled environment.

“We gave him and the training staff every out to do so,” Roberts said. “But there was a lot of confidence that he’s in a great spot.”

Snell’s recent workload was another reason for the Dodgers to be conservative with his workload Saturday. Over the past two weeks, he’s only thrown one inning.

“So there’s a balance between getting your work in, making sure you feel good coming out of it,” Roberts said. “Even for example, I could’ve pushed Tarik [Skubal in his start Friday], given his efficiency. But to me, to what end?”

Snell should be full-go for the playoffs, Roberts said. But count Snell among the Dodgers players who can benefit from the wild-card bye.

“This is still an important one,” Roberts said of Snell’s start Saturday, “to go into it feeling good, to then take that extra six, seven, eight days.”

Six to eight days off would line Snell up to start Game 2 or 3 of the National League Division Series. But Roberts declined to tip his hand on rotation order. The days off give the Dodgers extra flexibility to line up their pitching.

Mookie Betts celebrates after hitting a home run for the Dodgers in the third inning Saturday against the Giants.

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

“You’re looking at, the first series, who could pitch on regular [rest], who needs extra, how potentially the next series lines up,” Roberts said. “How you can … maximize those four guys. And I do think with those four guys, it doesn’t matter the opponent, so that’s not a variable.”

Roberts also said alternating between right- and left-handers was not a variable.

“To be honest with you, you could put them all in a hat, and you could make a case for any order you put them in,” Roberts said.

Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the stalwart of the rotation, certainly has performed to the level of a Game 1 starter, both this season and in a heroic World Series run last year.

For Game 2, it would make sense to choose a pitcher who’s comfortable starting on four days rest. Then, thanks to a pair of off days built into the series, both the Game 1 and Game 2 starters could be available to throw in an if-necessary Game 5.

Skubal has pitched on regular rest this season more than any of his rotation mates, making him a strong option to take the ball in the second game.

If the Dodgers do, indeed, go in that direction for Games 1 and 2, Snell would then be the natural choice for Game 3, on eight days’ rest. And right-hander Tyler Glasnow could take an if-necessary Game 4.

The Dodgers, however, don’t need to finalize their pitching decisions just yet.

“I love our starters,” Snell said. “I love the staff, the way we push for each other to be great and support each other. So, I can’t wait. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, and now it’s time to prove it.”

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week that the best was yet to come, his expectations were centered on the offense.

In the Dodgers’ 10-4 rout of the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, that better version of the offense was on display, putting together a pair of three-run rallies in back-to-back innings to take pressure off the pitching staff.

“This is the first time, seems like all year, that we’ve had four or five hitters swing the bats well for four or five games,” Roberts said. “So it’s been really good to see.”

This month, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández have led the group, with Max Muncy and Will Smith heating up this week. The Dodgers’ 15 hits Saturday were their most in a game since July 2 against the San Diego Padres, and just two shy of their season high.

Reinforcements should be coming soon too. Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee) hit off the Trajekt machine Saturday and ran the bases before the game. Roberts said there’s a “good chance” that he’ll be activated off the 15-day injured list during the Dodgers’ series against the San Diego Padres this week. He can be reinstated as early as Wednesday.

Center fielder Andy Pages (fractured left hand) went through a simulated game Saturday. He could return Tuesday.

“You’re going to go through your waves,” said Betts, who finished the day with three doubles and a single. “You’ve just got to ride them. … Right now we’re getting them across, and we’re just going to keep giving ourselves chances. That’s the main thing.”

The offense kept the Dodgers in the game, despite Tarik Skubal struggling.

Skubal pitched only five innings, tied for his shortest start with the Dodgers. And he surrendered four runs, the worst mark of his Dodgers tenure.

Entering the game, Skubal appeared to be peaking. His previous two starts, both against the Reds, were some of his most efficient.

That efficiency, however, regressed against the Giants (64-91).

“Fastball command wasn’t great,” he said. “Not driving it up and in, kind of pulling the ball down at times, pushing it up at times. I think almost [all] pitching is all fastball command, and mine wasn’t great today.”

Though he got through the first two innings without giving up a run — thanks in part to a diving catch by Tucker in the right-center field to end the first — he issued two-out walks in each.

The Dodgers’ offense used that time to mount a lead. Betts hit the first of those doubles in his first at-bat, and Muncy authored his own to drive in the first run.

The next inning, rookie Josue De Paula’s walk, and singles from Alex Freeland and Betts combined to push in another run.

Dodgers baserunner Kyle Tucker slides head first into Giants catcher Andrew Knizner while scoring a run in the fifth inning Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Then Skubal began to struggle. With a runner on second and one out, he pitched to a full count against designated hitter Victor Bericoto. Skubal missed down the middle with a fastball, and Bericoto sent it 425 feet to center field. It landed on the netting on the other side of the wall to tie the score.

The Dodgers’ offense, coming alive in September, struck back in the third. Smith hit his second home run in as many nights, launching the second pitch of the inning into the left-field pavilion.

The Giants took a different approach to tie the score for a second time. After back-to-back singles, they used back-to-back sacrifice bunts to advance the runners and score another run.

Then the two teams traded runs again. Betts put the Dodgers (95-60) up with an RBI double in the fourth. Skubal gave up back-to-back doubles in the fifth.

That marked both the end of Skubal’s start and the beginning of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught.

“Obviously, I wasn’t very good today,” Skubal said. “But the offense and defense and bullpen picked me up big time. And that’s what good teams do, they pick each other up and win series and win baseball games. So, hats off to them.”

The Dodgers brought seven batters to the plate in the fifth, and all but one reached base. Tommy Edman hit a two-run single. And pinch-hitting Miguel Rojas almost matched him, but Giants left fielder Turner Hill made a perfect throw to nab Edman in a close play at home to end the inning.

Betts’ and Smith’s bats stayed hot to open the sixth with a leadoff double and one-out RBI single, respectively. The Dodgers took advantage of the Giants’ sloppy infield play to load the bases for De Paula, who lined a two-run single into shallow center field.

Those were the kinds of stifling rallies that had defined the Dodgers’ offense earlier in the season, when they were scoring regularly in double digits.

“I think our potential’s winning the World Series,” Tucker said. “So until we do that, then I can say we reached it. But we feel like we’re in a good spot right now. Our pitching staff’s done a great job all year giving us an opportunity to win every single night. Our defense has played pretty well behind them, and then offensively we’ve done a solid job as well.

“Right now we’ve got a few guys that are feeling good, a few guys that are banged up. But we’re still out there grinding, trying to win as many games as possible before the season ends and just trying to carry it all the way to the playoffs.”

Tucker picked up some extra bumps and bruises Saturday, most notably fouling a pitch off his right knee in the third inning. Once the game became a blowout, Roberts pulled him.

“I feel like everyone’s grinding at this point in the season,” Tucker said. “But I’ll be good with it.”