The Los Angeles Dodgers have their starting rotation set for the National League Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Longtime MLB reporter Bob Nightengale posted the news on X on Monday morning. Per Nightengale, "It will be Blake Snell in Game 1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. Shohei Ohtani in Game 3. If Dodgers advance, and Ohtani doesn’t pitch against the Reds, he will start Game 1 in the Division Series vs. Philadelphia."
There has not been any news released on Monday morning about the Reds starting rotation.
This NLWC Series, while the pitching edge probably goes to the Dodgers, will pit a couple of veteran managers against each other. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts leads LA while Terry Francona, who has been around the MLB world for some time, leads Cincinnati.
What does this mean as per the pitching rotations? It means that both managers have had experience setting up rotations for clutch games. They also know that the Wild Card Series is a best-of-five deal.
If the Dodgers can win the first two games, then it gives Ohtani more time to get ready for the Divisional Series. That's not a bad deal in the long run.
Snell is 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA. In 61 1/3 innings, Snell has 72 strikeouts and a 1.255 WHIP. Yamamoto is 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA. In 30 starts, he has 201 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.990.
As for Ohtani, he's just recently gotten back into a starting pitcher's spot for the Dodgers. He's been incredible at the plate as Dodgers fans know quite well.
The Dodgers also have a home-field advantage here as this series' first two games will be played at Dodger Stadium. If they can make this advantage work for themselves, then they'd head to the Divisional Round.
That gives Roberts and his players all the leverage in the world right now.
Los Angeles wants to repeat as World Series champions. Their journey to do so begins on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Let the postseason begin.