{"id":925351,"date":"2026-10-08T13:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/925351\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T13:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:44:09","slug":"los-angeles-dodgers-will-have-time-to-reset-rotation-bullpen-and-struggling-shohei-ohtani-for-nlcs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/925351\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Dodgers will have time to reset rotation, bullpen and struggling Shohei Ohtani for NLCS"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Finishing off the Atlanta Braves<\/a> in four games in the NL Division Series meant more to the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> than avoiding a winner-take-all Game 5.<\/p>\n

By ending the series Wednesday night with a 4-1 victory, the Dodgers will have extra time to reset their rotation, bullpen and struggling slugger Shohei Ohtani<\/a> for the Championship Series opening game Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important. It was very important,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cOnce you get to an elimination game, a Game 5 or a Game 7, anything can happen. And to be able to win today, get back, reset, have a day off tomorrow, set the rotation, it\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extra rest means Tarik Skubal<\/a> likely will be the choice to start Sunday against Milwaukee instead of handling a Game 5 against the Braves. Similarly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a>, Blake Snell<\/a> and Tyler Glasnow<\/a> will be well rested for their expected NLCS starts.<\/p>\n

Infielder Miguel Rojas<\/a> may need the extra rest for a sore lower back that kept him out Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Also, Edwin D\u00edaz will have ample time to reset after recording saves on back-to-back days to close out the series against Atlanta. The ninth-inning work showed D\u00edaz is re-established as the closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team trusts me,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cI think that was the most important thing for me, the team trusts me. They give me the ball every single day. And the last two nights it\u2019s been amazing. That\u2019s why I came here to win games and close games like this one. So I\u2019m really happy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite those advantages, Roberts is preparing for a tough NLCS as the Dodgers try to move closer to their goal of becoming the first NL team to win three consecutive World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got our work cut out,\u201d Roberts said, adding extra rest also will be important for such players as Ohtani and Freddie Freeman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ohtani was 2 for 13 against Atlanta and hasn\u2019t homered since Aug. 18 while dealing with injuries to his right biceps, left knee and neck that have also kept the two-way player off the mound.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo kind of enjoy this one, get Shohei a couple of days to get back,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cFreddie, he had a big series, but, again a couple of days will help him. Give our guys in the \u2018pen a little reset. So we\u2019ll be ready to go Game 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz pitched a perfect ninth inning in the clinching win. The on-field celebration was a low-key affair, but Roberts and his players, wearing \u201cTake October\u201d T-shirts and goggles to protect their eyes, soon were drenched with champagne.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers made the most of their opportunity to celebrate another postseason series win while maintaining their focus on a third straight World Series championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to win the World Series, not this series,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got eight more wins to go. So our goal is win those eight games. And at the end of the day when we win those eight games, we celebrate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re going back to LA to keep working. I know all the guys are on the same track. Now we just celebrate a little bit, go back to LA, get working and be ready for Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy Pages<\/a>\u2019 bases-loaded single in the seventh drove in two runs to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Max Muncy<\/a> added to the lead with a homer in the ninth, his third blast of the postseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we have big teams, big series coming up,\u201d Pages said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to face tough teams, so prepare for those moments, but also take advantage of the opportunity of being here and enjoying these moments. And knowing that our ultimate goal is to win the World Series. So focus on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full MLB coverage here <\/p>\n

Charles Odum, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Finishing off the Atlanta Braves in four games in the NL Division Series meant more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":925352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-925351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}