On Saturday, Oct. 3, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made official what had been reported in the Japanese media a day earlier: Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves.
On the surface, it might seem like a curious call. During the regular season, Yamamoto led the team in wins (14), starts (28), innings pitched (185.0) and strikeouts (182), while posting a 2.53 ERA. He was the MVP of the 2025 World Series, starting Game 6 and closing Game 7 in one of the most remarkable postseason pitching performances ever.
Yet Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell will start ahead of Yamamoto against the Braves. Why?
Start with this: Yamamoto has made three career starts at Truist Park, the Braves’ home field. He’s allowed one run in 16.1 innings there, good for a 0.55 ERA — the lowest in his career at any MLB venue in which he’s made more than one start.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t cite that stat in explaining his decision to hold Yamamoto back, or the one that perhaps motivated his decision to start left-handed pitchers (Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell, respectively) in Games 1 and 2 of the series: the Braves ranked 22nd in MLB in wOBA against left-handed pitchers, and 11th against right-handers.
For his part, Walt Weiss knows the secret is out. He often saw teams throw their top left-handed starters against the Braves during the regular season, knowing his go-to lineup against right-handers was a bit stronger.
“We’re used to it. Everyone lines up their lefties against us. It’s happened all year. It’s happened with starters. It’s happened with the opposing bullpen. Even during the year, they’d call up lefties for the series. So we’re pretty used to this.”