LOS ANGELES — The best starting staff in the major leagues was at a crossroads just a month ago with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow ailing, while Roki Sasaki was struggling.
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The Dodgers, who did not seem to have room in the rotation for left-hander Justin Wrobleski when the season started, suddenly looked as if they needed to dust off the 2024 postseason game plan, when Manager Dave Roberts had a magic touch and the bullpen grinded its way to a title.
Except instead of regressing into chaos with “openers” and roster moves aplenty, the Dodgers’ rotation has been even better during a current run that has only improved the club’s chances of being the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees at the turn of the century.
The Dodgers’ six-man rotation was deemed a necessity with Shohei Ohtani in his first full season as a starter since 2023 and Roki Sasaki coming off an injury-plagued 2025 season. Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan are also still in the early stages of their careers.
With postseason runs an annual occurrence, keeping arms fresh has been a priority. And yet adding more starters to the mix has not come at a cost.
Even with Sheehan pulled in the second inning of his start against the Angels on Sunday, the Dodgers’ starting staff is reaching rarified air.
Over the past 24 games, the rotation has a combined 14-4 record, while the team has gone 18-6. The starters have a 2.06 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP in 135⅓ innings over that stretch.
A starter has gone at least six innings 15 times during the run, while allowing one run or less 15 times as well.
And even with Sheehan pulled as his second-inning pitch count started to soar on Sunday, Dodgers starters have given up two runs or less in 14 consecutive games.
Asked about the current state of the starting staff, in comparison to October of 2024 when the Dodgers were down to three of their regular starters, a smile crept across Roberts’ face.
“You know, it’s remarkable,” Roberts said. “(As) an organization, you try to get young starters, and that’s probably the hardest thing to do, and to see what Emmett’s done still as a young pitcher, and you see what Justin has done, a young pitcher, and then you see where what Roki has done in a calendar year, it’s really unique to see pictures of that service time be that successful.”
The run of success has continued even as left-hander Eric Lauer joined the staff in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17. The Blue Jays ran out of patience with Lauer, designated him for assignment, then traded him while receiving cash in return.
Instead of turning to openers out of the bullpen to carry the team through, just as Roberts had done in the 2024 playoffs, the Dodgers brought in a 31-year-old starter in his eighth season, who appeared as if he might be on the decline.
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There were no crossed fingers. The Dodgers move to add Lauer was a calculated one.
When Lauer was drafted by the San Diego Padres as a first-round selection in 2016, current Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior was the Padres’ minor league pitching coordinator. The familiarity hastened the get-to-know-you process.
“Whatever you can line up what you think and feel with what the coaches or anybody (in the organization) thinks and feels, it’s going to be as easy as it can be,” Lauer said. “Everybody’s kind of on the same page instead of fighting ideas with more ideas.”
Instead of continuing “a lot of tinkering” that Lauer was doing in an attempt to catch up from an early-season illness, the Dodgers refined the process for him.
“Getting over here was kind of, ‘We just want you to focus on the game and pitching, and then we’ll kind of tell you what we see, what we think,’” Lauer said.
In two starts with the Dodgers, Lauer has already started to rebuild his season by going 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in 10⅔ innings. He was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) for the Blue Jays to start the season.
His next test will be large, as he is lined up to start opposite the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes on Tuesday.
Asked if the starters really do feed off each other’s quality outings, or if it’s just a cliché, Sheehan said there is absolutely truth to it.
“I think it just goes to show the amount of depth that we have every year and the way they plan for whatever could happen throughout the year,” Sheehan said. “It’s been really cool. Hopefully we can keep it going and just give our team a chance to win every time.”
Sheehan’s short outing Sunday was far from cool, but the decision to pull him from the game was another long-term consideration. Roberts thought Sheehan’s second-inning pitch count had become too taxing for a pitcher who returned from Tommy John surgery less than a year ago.
The Dodgers won’t rush back Glasnow or Snell either, as right-hander River Ryan is showing that he is ready to return from his Tommy John surgery. In another nod to caution, Ryan has only pitched six times since his surgery in 2024 and is 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
“Not having our veteran guys, Snell and Glasnow, being active, and to be able to know they’re coming back is huge,” Roberts said. “But this is a good opportunity for us. It doesn’t feel great for some of these guys that are not active, but for the Dodgers, this is a good thing for our organization to give these other guys innings.”