LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has found a way around his team’s struggling relievers: Barely use them.
The reigning World Series champions, seeded third in the National League playoffs, have relied on their starting pitching to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the top-seeded 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 rally in closing out the series opener Monday night, 2-1. Then in the 5-1 win Tuesday night, 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 Game 2 of a 2004 NL Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’ll take as many as we can get,” Roberts said with a laugh after being 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 in 17 of 18 innings pitched for the Dodgers in Milwaukee, and now here come Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani. Glasnow is set to start Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, while Ohtani is set to get the ball Friday in Game 4.