Tyler Glasnow

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts has found a way around the Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggling relievers. Barely use ’em.

The defending World Series champions have relied on their starting pitching to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Brewers in their best-of-seven NL Championship Series.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell tossed eight scoreless innings to go with 10 strikeouts before rookie Roki Sasaki and Blake Treinen tamped down a late Brewers rally in closing out Game 1.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a three-hitter in the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since Jose Lima threw a five-hit shutout in the 2004 NL Division Series against St. Louis in Game 2.

“I’ll take as many as we can get,” Roberts said, laughing when asked how many complete games his staff can deliver. “They’re doing their part by attacking, being efficient and putting themselves in a position to do that.”

Snell and Yamamoto combined to allow one run on four hits over 17 of 18 innings in Milwaukee.

Now, here come Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

Glasnow starts Game 3 at Dodger Stadium tonight. Ohtani is set to go in Game 4 on Friday.

The Dodgers’ rotation struggled earlier in the season with injuries and slumps, but it’s clicking now.

“It’s perfect timing,” Glasnow said Wednesday. “The vibe is really good in the clubhouse. Everyone is feeling great. It’s just a good time to get hot, for sure.”

Glasnow allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in Game 4 of the NLDS against Philadelphia, when the Dodgers finished off the best-of-five series.

The Dodgers have carefully managed Ohtani’s innings this season — his first pitching since he had a second elbow surgery in December 2023 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander twice pitched into the seventh in the regular season.

“The century mark isn’t like a ceiling on pitches. Yeah, I think it’s just kind of contingent on how he’s throwing,” Roberts said. “He’s waited for this moment, and I think with the rest that he’s got going into that game, he’s going to be ready to go.”

Ohtani was impressed with Snell and Yamamoto pitching deep into their starts and he’s eager to do the same.

“That would be great,” he said through a translator. “But my number one priority is making sure I’m putting up zeros no matter what and making sure we’re the team that scores first.”

The Brewers have lost their last nine road playoff games since 2018, and will need to win at least two of the next three games in Los Angeles to force the series back to Wisconsin. They swept a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in July.

Pham, Triolo listed

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tommy Pham and Jared Triolo were announced as finalists for a 2025 National League Gold Glove Award.

With three players listed at each position in both the National League and American League, Pham was one of three left fielders and Triolo was a utility selection.

In addition, Ke’Bryan Hayes, who spent a majority of the season with the Pirates before getting traded to the Cincinnati Reds, is an NL third baseman finalist.

Winners will be announced Nov. 2

Hedges re-signs

CLEVELAND — Catcher Austin Hedges re-signed with the Cleveland Guardians, agreeing Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $4 million.

Hedges, who had been eligible for free agency, gets the same base salary he had this season.