Dodgers to start Jack Flaherty in Game 1 of NLDS, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto set for Game 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jack Flaherty will start Game 1 of this weekend’s National League Division Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto set for Game 2.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday that the team hasn’t finalized plans for Games 3 and potentially 4, but Walker Buehler and rookie Landon Knack will be involved.

The Dodgers will play the winner of the NL Wild Card between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres, who lead the best-of-three series 1-0.

The best-of-five NLDS opens Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Yamamoto has made just four starts since coming off the injured list, having missed nearly three months with an arm injury. The right-hander allowed two runs at Colorado in his final tune-up last weekend. He pitched five innings, his longest outing since returning.

Yamamoto may be an MLB rookie, but he’s got plenty of big-game experience in his native Japan, including pitching in the 2022 Japan Series, where he led the Orix Buffaloes to victory, and in the Tokyo Olympics, when Japan won a gold medal.

“I don’t think Yama’s going to be fazed by the big moment,” Gomes said on a teleconference. “If anything, I think he’s going to thrive on it.”

Flaherty joined the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers at the July trade deadline. The deal brought him back to his hometown. The right-hander had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings over 10 starts for the Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani will continue throwing bullpen sessions as he rehabs from his second elbow surgery a year ago, but there are no plans for him to face live hitters, Gomes said.

“We don’t anticipate him pitching in the postseason,” the GM said.

Instead, the Dodgers will rely on his bat to help carry them, as Ohtani did in his record-setting first season with the team.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in baseball (98-64), earning the No. 1 seed in the NL and guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That gave them a bye and once again the team is off for five days going into the NLDS. The layoff hasn’t been kind to them the last two years. They were swept out of the Division Series by Arizona last year and lost to the Padres 3-1 in 2022.

“Our guys are tired of it,” manager Dave Roberts said of the early exits.

Roberts has noticed a different attitude in the clubhouse this time around

“I see some more hunger, I see some more edge. I like that,” he said. “Not to say that guys weren’t prepared or trying or cared, but there’s a different level of intensity.”

The Dodgers can actually use the extra time off this year, with several players trying to heal and the heavily taxed bullpen needing some rest.

All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Miguel Rojas are making progress after getting injured recently. Roberts said he’s confident Freeman will be in the starting lineup, although his right ankle injury could limit him defensively.

Freeman is taking swings in the batting cage and will likely face live pitching either Thursday or Friday.

Rojas has a tear in his left adductor muscle. He received an injection last week and will require surgery after the season, but he’s expected to play.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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