{"id":814279,"date":"2026-09-25T23:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T23:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/814279\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T23:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T23:12:17","slug":"dodgers-key-decision-coming-with-playoff-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/814279\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers’ key decision coming with playoff rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the California Post\u2019s weekly Dodgers recap<\/a>, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.<\/p>\n

QUESTION OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

Who will be Dodgers\u2019 Game 1 starter?<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) gets set to run on to the field for the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The Dodgers enter the final weekend of the season having checked every important item on their regular-season to-do list.<\/p>\n

A 13th division title in the last 14 seasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A first-round playoff bye<\/a> that will see them avoid a best-of-three wild card round.<\/p>\n

And, perhaps most importantly, a healthy starting rotation entering this quest for a third-straight World Series title this October.<\/p>\n

For most of this year, that last objective seemed to be constantly in doubt, thanks to extended injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow as well as Shohei Ohtani\u2019s return to a hitting-only role.<\/p>\n

But now, barring a last-second setback, the team knows it will have a powerhouse rotation after all, with Snell, Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and trade deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal all set to feature in the star-studded group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The only real question entering the team\u2019s pre-NLDS bye week is how those four will be lined up for the best-of-five series.<\/p>\n

The most logical choice for Game 1 is probably Yamamoto, thanks not only to his sterling postseason track record but also scheduling logistics in the best-of-five series. Yamamoto is most accustomed to pitching on five days of rest, while someone like Skubal has more experience making only four-day turns.<\/p>\n

If Yamamoto starts Game 1, and Skubal starts Game 2, both would be available for a potential winner-take-all Game 5 \u2013\u2013 Yamamoto on what would be five days\u2019 rest, and Skubal on four.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill<\/p>\n

Snell, meanwhile, could make the most sense for Game 3. Glasnow, meanwhile, could be an option out of the bullpen early in the series before getting lined up for Game 4.<\/p>\n

As of now, the team hasn\u2019t publicly settled on any final decisions. And, regardless of how they line things up, they\u2019ll feel good about the state of their starters.<\/p>\n

As Freddie Freeman noted, \u201cWe have four No. 1 starters.\u201d<\/p>\n

PLAYER OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

Will Smith (5 for 12, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs this week; .250 average, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, .770 OPS this season)<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s neck injury lasted longer than expected<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

It also took him a minute to rediscover his swing.<\/p>\n

After returning from the injured list at the start of September, Smith initially endured a 6-for-35 slump in his first 13 games back.<\/p>\n

This week, however, the three-time All-Star turned a corner.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 Will Smith scores after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill<\/p>\n

In his last six games, Smith has gone 8-for-20 with three home runs, five RBIs and a .520 on-base-percentage. It was vintage form from the 31-year-old, combining consistent power with supreme plate discipline.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s no small development for the Dodgers, who will be counting on Smith to not only lead their pitching staff from behind the plate throughout the postseason, but also provide production at the plate from his spot in the middle of the lineup.<\/p>\n

After all, for all the star power the team boasts at the top of its lineup in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman, it will be up to others like Smith, Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages to help manufacture runs behind them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At long last, Smith is looking capable of doing so again.<\/p>\n

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PITCHER OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

Edwin D\u00edaz (4 scoreless innings, 8 strikeouts, 1 hit, 1 walk this week; 9.17 ERA, 7 for 11 in save opportunities this year)<\/p>\n

What a week it was for the Dodgers\u2019 $69 million offseason signing.<\/p>\n

From potentially missing the postseason roster<\/a>, to potentially pitching his way back into ninth-inning consideration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz pitches against the San Diego Padres during the fifth inning at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Four outings were all it took for D\u00edaz to change his October outlook so drastically, after he finally looked like his typically dominant self in his return from a second stint on the injured list this year.<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz credited the improvement to a mechanical tweak<\/a> he made during a minor-league rehab assignment. His ability to overcome a season of adversity \u2013\u2013 which included him losing his job as the team\u2019s closer \u2013\u2013 also impressed club officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think having a lot of time in the league helped me a lot on that,\u201d the 10-year veteran said. \u201cIf I was a young guy, maybe I\u2019d overthink. But I\u2019ve been in the league for so long and I know how to make the adjustment. I think my time in the league helped me a lot just to come back and do my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

It still seems like a stretch, of course, for D\u00edaz to begin the playoffs back in a cemented closer\u2019s role. For as good as he was this past week, he still has a 9.72 ERA in his injury-plagued debut season<\/a> with the team.<\/p>\n

At the very least, though, the right-hander has re-emerged as a trustworthy option in the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen, contributing to a late-season surge from that unit<\/a> as a whole.<\/p>\n

And who knows, if he keeps pitching this way over the final weekend of the regular season, and in whatever role he is handed to begin October, maybe there could be a point this postseason where he is summoned to close a game out in the ninth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly possible,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said this week.<\/p>\n

That alone marks a stark change from where D\u00edaz was just seven days ago.<\/p>\n

PROSPECT OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma City Comets (Pacific Coast League champions)<\/p>\n

A week before the beginning of the Dodgers\u2019 postseason trek, their triple-A affiliate achieved some minor-league playoff glory.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night, the Oklahoma City Comets won the Pacific Coast League pennant, coming back from a game down in a best-of-three series against the Athletics\u2019 triple-A club to win their second PCL title in the last four years.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers James Tibbs III poses for a photo on a back field at Camelback Ranch, the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training complex in Phoenix, Arizona, Saturday, February 21, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s team was led by highly-touted outfield prospect James Tibbs III<\/a>, who hit .287 with 30 home runs, 107 RBIs and a .941 OPS. This week, the team was also bolstered by fellow top prospect Josue De Paula, who joined up with OKC for his triple-A debut after being optioned by the Dodgers<\/a> (who had previously called him up straight from double-A) and reached base four times in their back-to-back Games 2 and 3 wins. <\/p>\n

That included an RBI double in Thursday\u2019s series-clincher, further boosting his chances of returning to the Dodgers\u2019 roster for the start of their postseason.<\/p>\n

OKC, meanwhile, will now advance to the Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday, where they will face the Washington Nationals\u2019 farm club, the Rochester Red Wings.<\/p>\n

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