Snell and Yamamoto prove Dodgers playing a smart (but dangerous) game in playoffs

On paper, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2025 season with a starting rotation that was built to dominate. It only took until the end of April for it to fall apart. All's well that ends well, however, and despite the trials and tribulations of the regular season, the Dodgers have their horses ready and at full strength when it matters most.

And they are leaning on them. Hard. After giving up a first-pitch, leadoff homer to Jackson Chourio in Game 2, Yoshinobu Yamamoto settled down and went the distance, authoring a complete game while giving up just three hits.

That was on the heels of Blake Snell dominating with ten strikeouts and allowing just one hit in eight shutout innings in Game 1. With the brilliance in the first two games, the Dodgers are set up to make this NLCS a short affair. Tyler Glasnow will go in Game 3, and with his talent, he'll have every opportunity to do what his rotation mates have already done.

However, underneath the surface of the starters' dominance bubbles a concern that could rear its ugly head at some point on the road to a ring.

The Dodgers' heavy reliance on their starters is smart (for now), but could be costly in the long run

Despite the star-studded roster and massive payroll, the Dodgers have a weakness. The bullpen has been an issue all year, posting a 4.27 ERA on the season, which ranked 21st in the majors. Despite the brilliance, we saw how the unit almost cost the Dodgers in Game 1.

With Snell taken out after eight scoreless innings, the reinvented Roki Sasaki took the hill to close things out. After getting Caleb Durbin to pop out, Sasaki gave up a walk, a ground rule double, allowed a run to score on a sac fly, and finally another walk before getting pulled.

The man who replaced him, Blake Treinen, sent Dodgers fans into a tizzy, fearing the worst. Treinen ultimately escaped unscathed, but this brief cardiac event highlights the concern of pushing the starters full-throttle against Milwaukee.

What if Los Angeles burns out its rotation getting to the World Series and needs to rely more heavily on the shaky bullpen to bring home another ring? It's a valid concern. Dodgers starters haven't been the picture of durability, and we're coming to the end of a long season. What if there isn't enough gas in the tank?

Concern aside, what other alternative is there? Preserving the starters for a hypothetical World Series appearance could be the Dodgers cutting off their nose to spite their face. At this point in October, today is the only day that matters.

The best Los Angeles can hope for is to take care of these next two games to secure the World Series berth while simultaneously hoping the Toronto Blue Jays get their act together and push the Seattle Mariners to the limit.

If the Dodgers can pull off the sweep while the ALCS goes seven, they'll get a nice little breather and be able to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to pushing the starting rotation.