Dodgers flip top of starting rotation, with an eye toward October

Los Angeles, - August 15: Shohei Ohtani #17 along with teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell #7, and Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare to pose for a picture as fans look on prior to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium in L

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What is the story about?

The Dodgers flipped their rotation order slightly for the last two games of the homestand, with Tarik Skubal pitching Tuesday on four days rest, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday before the Thursday off day.

“I know Mark [Prior, pitching coach] talked it out with both guys, but I don’t know exactly what the details are,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday at Dodger Stadium.

The obvious reason seems like it’s simply acknowledging that this the order the Dodgers would prefer to use

in October, with Skubal in Game 1 and Yamamoto in Game 2. In a best-of-7 series, the Game 1 starter is lined up for Game 5 on four days rest. The Dodgers have yet to start their Japanese ace on fewer than five days rest at any point in his three seasons with the team, though his World Series heroics in relief on zero days rest last year is duly noted.

There’s also lining things up for October, while playing the remaining 18 games on the schedule.

Roberts on Monday also said the Dodgers will need to fill a few starts down the stretch. Emmet Sheehan after his fantastic effort on Monday will get another start on Sunday in Miami. Roki Sasaki is close to being activated off the injured list too, but it’s just a matter of when to slot him back in.

If the Dodgers get the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, they get a bye into the National League Division Series, which earns them five days off before a Saturday, October 3 start to their postseason. But if they are the No. 3 seed, they’ll have to play the wild card round, which starts on Tuesday, September 29.

The Dodgers enter Tuesday a game and a half behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 1 see, and two games up on the Atlanta Braves for the No. 2 seed. They do not have the tiebreaker with either team, so will need to beat them outright.

With Sheehan going Sunday in Miami, the Dodgers could start Skubal next Monday, September 14 on five days rest, then twice on four days rest (September 19, 24) to keep him available for Game 1 of a wild card series on September 29. But that feels aggressive. They could also slot Sasaki in next Monday and start Skubal and Yamamoto in order once a week three more times, keeping them available for either a wild card series or with time for a tuneup in between the final week of the regular season and October 3-4 in the Division Series.

This week is pretty set, but there is flexibility in the final two weeks to pretty much do whatever they want. Keep in mind that Justin Wrobleski could fill in with a bulk effort, Bobby Miller could do the same during the final week after his 15 days on optional assignment are up, and that the Dodgers will probably want to have Sasaki pitch in relief at some point before October given that that will be his role in the postseason.

Here’s what a rest-of-the-season rotation could look like for the Dodgers, with all the caveats above.