LOS ANGELES, CA: The Dodgers hopes for a postseason run with solid pitching were further derailed on Friday when Gavin Stone, a 25-year-old right-hander who was the only starter in the opening day rotation to have not missed a start this year, was placed on the 15-day injured list due to irritation in his shoulder.
The Dodgers invested $308 million in the offseason to assemble a star-studded team that included four winners of the MVP award: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Clayton Kershaw.
The team also boasted a deep bullpen full of power arms, enough to staff not one, but two major league rotations. The financial gambles, which totaled over $1 billion for Ohtani and Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto alone, have obviously paid off, as the Dodgers had an 84-56 record going into play on Friday, tied for the best record in baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers will start the postseason with a rotation that includes Jack Flaherty and — well, who exactly?— as they approach the last three weeks of the regular season, when they typically make their last push for a National League West championship, adjusting their roster, and setting up their starting pitchers for the postseason.
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