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Alden Gonzalez
TORONTO — With everything on the line Saturday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers plan to start Shohei Ohtani on short rest in Game 7. A final decision had not been made as of late Friday night, but the team is leaning in that direction.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in a news conference after his team’s 3-1, season-saving win in Game 6 that every pitcher except Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be available.
That includes Tyler Glasnow, who was lined up to start Game 7 but came out of the bullpen to record the final three outs in Friday’s Game 6. It includes Roki Sasaki, who faced seven batters. And it includes Ohtani, whose easiest path to pitching has always been to open the game, rather than coming out of the bullpen.
Max Scherzer in Game 7 and, to some extent, have every pitcher available other than Kevin Gausman. That includes 22-year-old phenom Trey Yesavage, who dominated the Dodgers in Wednesday’s Game 5, striking out 12 while throwing seven innings of one-run ball. Saturday would have qualified as Yesavage’s bullpen day. Instead, he could pitch the decisive game of the 2025 season.
«If the people who make the decision think it’s a good idea for the team,» Yesavage said, «then I’m all for it.»
ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to this report.
