The Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday switched their first two starters for the National League Division Series, deciding to start Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1 on Saturday against the San Diego Padres and going with fellow right-hander Jack Flaherty in Game 2 on Sunday.

On Wednesday, the Dodgers said Flaherty would start Game 1 and Yamamoto would follow in the best-of-five series.

Los Angeles president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the decision to flip the starters wasn’t performance-based. He said pitching the opener would make Yamamoto available for Game 5, if necessary.

“Yoshi hasn’t pitched on a regular (basis),” Friedman said. “Jack’s more accustomed to it. Depending on ‘pen usage throughout, it allows us that flexibility in Game 5, if there is one. So it’s just about having more options.”

Friedman said Yamamoto was fine with the switch.

“He was like, ‘I was going to throw a ‘pen either way today or tomorrow. I’m doing it today. I’m great. I’m ready for whatever you guys want.'” Friedman said. “He was excited.”

San Diego is starting Dylan Cease in the opener at Los Angeles with fellow right-hander Yu Darvish pitching Game 2.

The Padres are also bracing for the return of medical tests performed on right-hander Joe Musgrove. He exited San Diego’s 5-4 clinching victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday in the wild-card series due to right elbow tightness.

Musgrove, 31, departed after 3 2/3 innings. He twice was sidelined by elbow issues in the regular season.

Yamamoto missed nearly three months with a shoulder issue in his first season in the majors. The 26-year-old from Japan went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts.

Flaherty, who turns 29 on Oct. 15, was acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline and went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 starts with Los Angeles.

Cease, 28, threw the second no-hitter in Padres history in his first season with the club. Musgrove tossed the first in 2021.

Cease was 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA in 33 starts. Darvish, 38, went 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts.

Right-hander Michael King is expected to start Game 3 on Tuesday when the series moves to San Diego. King struck out 12 in seven innings in the Padres’ 4-0 win over the Braves in Game 1 of the wild-card series Tuesday. The 29-year-old went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA in 30 regular-season starts and one relief appearance.

–Field Level Media