The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to repeat as World Series champions in 25 years behind the contributions of their starting pitchers, who were dominant for most of the postseason.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned World Series MVP honors after going a perfect 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 0.68 WHIP with 15 strikeouts against two walks in 17.2 innings pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays.
He went the distance in Game 2 before picking up wins in back-to-back elimination contests on the road.
Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani also had success at various points throughout October to help the Dodgers win their ninth World Series title in franchise history.
During an appearance on MLB Network’s “Hot Stove,” Ryan Pepiot praised the Dodgers starting rotation for leading the way in the playoffs:
“It was a phenomenal World Series to watch as a baseball fan. Just to see the back and forth, teams winning two each on the road. The Dodgers down, needed to win two to win, and take it to seven, and as entertaining as that was. And the pitching was ridiculous. I feel like the last few years watching the playoffs, it’s been short leashes for the starters. You see Yamamoto go CG, Snell go eight. That’s what you want as a starter.”
As Pepiot noted, it has become somewhat rare for starters to pitch deep into the postseason, but the Dodgers certainly reversed that trend this year.
In their 17 playoff games, a Dodgers starting pitcher went at least six innings on 12 occasions. Yamamoto led the charge with back-to-back complete games in the postseason.
Ryan Pepiot: trade from Dodgers to Rays was ‘blessing’
Pepiot spent two seasons with the Dodgers before being sent to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the trade that brought Glasnow to L.A.
He is coming off a career year and will now look to help the Rays get back to the playoffs in 2026.
Less than a year after being traded by the Dodgers, Pepiot explained that his move to the Rays was a positive change due to their reputation of getting the most out of pitchers.
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