"First things first: The fans in an outdoor stadium in Philadelphia are louder than the fans in an indoor stadium in Milwaukee. No contest. They are respectful and truly nice here. They booed Shohei Ohtani, but half-heartedly, almost out of obligation. In Philadelphia, they booed Ohtani relentlessly, and with hostility. Here's the thing, though: It didn't matter, because the Dodgers have silenced the enemy crowd wherever they go this October."
"The Dodgers have deployed four silencers. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani. "It's amazing," Tyler Glasnow said. "It's like a show every time you're out there." The Dodgers won the World Series last year with home runs and bullpen games and New York Yankees foibles, but not with starting pitching."
"In eight games this October, the Dodgers have seven quality starts, and not coincidentally they are 7-1. The starters have posted a 1.54 ERA, the lowest of any team in National League history to play at least eight postseason games. "Our starting pitching this entire postseason has been incredible," said Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations. "We knew it would be a strength, but this is beyond what we could have reasonably expected."
Dodgers starting pitchers have excelled early in the postseason, delivering seven quality starts in eight games and compiling a 1.54 ERA. The team is undefeated on the road this postseason, 2-0 in Philadelphia and 2-0 in Milwaukee. The Dodgers have shifted from a bullpen-heavy approach last October, when starters posted a 5.25 ERA and only two quality starts, to relying heavily on starters this year. Four primary starters—Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani—have been especially effective. Team leadership described the starting pitching as incredible and beyond reasonable expectations.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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