The Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation, led by pitchers Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow, has been impressive in their recent 2-4 road trip against the Tigers and Braves. The Dodgers' four projected postseason starters combined for a 1.27 ERA over five games, with Glasnow making two standout starts after a three-and-a-half-month absence due to back spasms. This pitching staff is considered one of the best in baseball, with the potential to carry the team through the playoffs despite struggling offense from Shohei Ohtani and others. The article argues that if the Dodgers' pitchers can maintain this level of performance, they may still be able to achieve a three-peat.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-31,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Save for a three-run eighth inning on Sunday that was heavily assisted by the Tigers’ incompetence, the Dodgers’ offense remained in a state of hibernation over the last week.
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offense → assist → week
Shohei Ohtani still looks like Popeye without his spinach, and the Dodgers will have trouble scoring runs consistently until that changes.
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that → look → runs
But if a 2-4 road trip showcased the reasons why the Dodgers won’t win the World Series again, it presented an argument for why they will.
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they → showcase → argument
They have the best starting pitching in baseball.
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They → have → baseball
Over the five games they combined to pitch against the Tigers and Braves, the Dodgers’ four projected postseason starters registered a 2.14 ERA.
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starters → combine → ERA
Remove Tyler Glasnow’s three-run first inning in Atlanta at the start of the two-city tour — his first inning of major-league action in close to four months — and that ERA drops to 1.27.
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ERA → remove → 1.27
Pitch like that in October and the wins will come.
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wins → pitch → October
There will be games like the one the Dodgers lost to the Braves on Thursday, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a run in 6 ⅓ innings but was outpitched by Chris Sale, who threw a shutout.
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who → lose → shutout
No team has ever gone undefeated in the playoffs in the wild-card era, and the Dodgers won’t be the first, regardless of how much they spend on players.
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they → go → players
The difference between the Dodgers and their opponents is what comes after.
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what → come → Dodgers
The day after Yamamoto pitched, Tarik Skubal started the series opener in Detroit.
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Skubal → pitch → Detroit
Skubal was followed by Blake Snell, who was followed by Glasnow.
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who → follow → Glasnow
There isn’t a team that can match that.
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that → be → that
With pitching like that, a team doesn’t have to hit much.
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team → have → much
They just have to strike the decisive blow before the other team does.
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team → have → blow
Sort of how the Dodgers did on Sunday.
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Dodgers → do → Sunday
With Glasnow dominating the Tigers, Teoscar Hernández broke a 1-1 stalemate with a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
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Hernández → dominate → inning
That was the formula the Dodgers used to win the World Series last year, their pitchers maintaining a low-scoring environment that set the stage for one of their hitters to be the offensive hero.
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one → use → hitters
The Dodgers will have to be better offensively than they are now — but not to a degree that would be impossible.
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that → have → degree
The three-peat remains within their reach, even more so because of Glasnow’s resurgence after a 3 ½-month absence because of back spasms.
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peat → remain → spasms
The Dodgers went on the road last week with a measure of certainty of what they could expect in October from Yamamoto, Snell and Skubal.
uncertain
they → go → Yamamoto
But the two starts made by Glasnow were inspiring revelations, particularly with Ohtani scratched from his scheduled one-inning start on Sunday and now unlikely to be sufficiently stretched out to be a full-fledged starter in October.
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Ohtani → make → October
Following that shake-off-the-rust first inning on Monday, Glasnow went on to limit the Braves to two hits over the next four innings.
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Glasnow → follow → innings
He completed seven innings, striking out seven.
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He → complete → seven
Glasnow was dissatisfied with the consistency of his fastball, but manager Dave Roberts described the pitch as “great,” particularly to his glove side.
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Roberts → describe → side
“You’ve got to respect the velocity,” Roberts said.
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Roberts → get → velocity
The 6-foot-8 Glasnow looked the part of a No. 1 starter.
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Glasnow → look → starter
On these Dodgers, he’s a No. 4 — or even a No. 5 depending on Ohtani’s status.
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he → ’ → status
While his back problems this year indicate he is still a threat to break down physically, the way he’s pitched point to him being mentally stronger than he was when the Dodgers traded for him before the 2024 season.
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Dodgers → indicate → season
The Dodgers initially planned for Ohtani to pitch an inning on Sunday as an opener and have Glasnow come in after him.
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Glasnow → plan → him
Glasnow was unfazed when the plan changed.
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plan → unfaze → ?
The Tigers scored their only run against Glasnow in the fourth inning, which was also when they collected their only two hits against him.
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they → score → him
Glasnow responded by retiring the final 10 batters he faced.
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he → respond → batters
The Dodgers posted a losing record in August.
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Dodgers → post → August
But they’re much closer to another championship than their recent form suggests.
uncertain
form → ’re → championship
Their rotation will ensure they are.
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they → ensure → ?
