Dave Roberts Provides Potential Outline For Dodgers Playoff Rotation

Ricardo Sandoval | Sep 29, 2024

Sep 27, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) walks to the mound in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a week away from the start of their 2024 playoff journey. The Dodgers are the No. 1 seed in the National League and will look to finish the job for the first time since 2020. 

L.A. has had many shortcomings in recent years, and they're looking to change that narrative this season. However, the Dodgers have been decimated by injuries, especially in the pitching department. 

With many of their top arms sidelined, the Dodgers are in need of a collective effort. 

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the playoff rotation for the N.L. Division series round, and there will be the four arms that will get their shot on the mound. 

Dave Roberts revealed to reporters that his four starting pitchers for the National League Division Series will be Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Landon Knack.

Roberts shared the news with reporters prior to their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, their final regular season series. 

In 2024, the Dodgers have had many different starting pitchers grace the mound for them. Seventeen pitchers have started games for the Dodgers in a year that has seen the rotation get hit hard with injuries. 

The Dodgers have suffered some significant losses in recent weeks. They will be without their right-handed ace, Tyler Glasnow. The 31-year-old is out for the year due to an elbow sprain. Glasnow finished the season with a 9-6 record, 3.49 ERA, 168 strikeouts, and a 0.95 WHIP in 22 starts and 134.0 innings. 

In addition, L.A. will also be without young right-hander Gavin Stone. Stone is on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. Stone was establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in the L.A. rotation. For the season, he recorded a 3.53 ERA, 11-5 record, 116 strikeouts, and a 1.21 WHIP in 25 starts and 140.1 innings. 

The Dodgers could also be without their future Hall of Famer and veteran left-handed pitcher, Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is out with a bone spur in his big left toe. Roberts said that the left-hander is in a "holding pattern."

The Dodgers are counting on a veteran pitcher in Flaherty, a rookie stud in Yamamoto, another rookie in Knack, and a veteran pitcher in Buehler, who is coming off a Tommy John surgery and has only pitched in 16 games this season. 

The Dodgers rotation could be in a better position, but in the postseason, anything can happen.