The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced Blake Snell as their Game 1 starter for the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers are set to take on the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-seven-series beginning Monday. The Dodgers had three days off to set their rotation, and have opted to have their two-time Cy Young winner on the mound to open the playoff series.
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‘I’m not falling for the ‘Average Joes.’ They’re a very good team,’’ Snell told reporters.
Snell had a rough start to his Dodgers career this season, allowing an uncharacterisitc eight walks to just four strikeouts, 10 hits, and two earned runs through his first nine innings of work. After shoulder inflammation would sideline him for four months, Snell returned as the dominant pitcher the Dodgers were prepared to feature in their rotation.
Snell pitched to the tune of a 2.41 ERA across his last nine starts, striking out 68 and walking just 18. When he was called upon for his first postseason as a Dodger, the southpaw appeared to take another productive step up.
Through Snell’s last two starts in the postseason, he has a microscopic 1.38 ERA, punching out 18 batters and walking five.
Who will start Game 2 of the NLCS for the Dodgers?
After Snell takes the bump for Game 1, the Dodgers will unleash their ace for Game 2 in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2 for Dodgers, still undecided what day Shohei Ohtani pitches.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 12, 2025
Yamamoto has put together a phenomenal 2025, tossing a 2.49 ERA this season leading to his first All-Star honor, totaling an ERA+ of 167, almost 70 percent higher than league average. Yamamoto notched 201 strikeouts to 59 walks on the year, but is coming off an NLDS Game 4 where he only went four innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out just a pair of batters.
When Yamamoto first appeared for the Dodgers this postseason, the second and final game of the Wild Card series, he went 6.2 innings, struck out nine, and allowed no earned runs. LA will hope that he can replicate this during Game 2 of the NLCS against a dominant Brewers team.
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Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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