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Dave Roberts borrows a page from AJ Hinch's book

The Dodgers' starting pitching situation has been a revolving door all season, and injuries to Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone down the stretch put them in a precarious situation heading into the postseason, with only Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler locked into rotation spots .

Instead of selecting rookie Landon Knack as the starter for Game 4, manager Dave Roberts took a leaf from Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch's book and opted for a play-by-committee approach.

Reliever Ryan Brasier started the first inning. Roberts mixed and matched perfectly the rest of the way, using eight different pitchers to throw a seven-hit shutout.

• Ryan Brasier: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Anthony Banda: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Michael Kopech: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Alex Vesia: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Evan Phillips: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Daniel Hudson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Blake Treinen: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Landon Knack: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

It was a bold approach to an elimination game, but the Dodgers ultimately decided it was the best option to extend the series to a decisive final game.

Now rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be on the mound to start Game 5, with Jack Flaherty waiting in the wings if needed. The entire bullpen should also be available with a rest day on Thursday.

There will be no more emotions at Dodger Stadium in Game 5

After listening to a raucous crowd at Petco Park in San Diego for Games 3 and 4, the NLDS returns to Dodger Stadium for a one-stop final game in this best-of-five series Winner leaves.

At this point, there's a good argument: The Dodgers and Padres are the best active rivals in baseball.

The Yankees and Red Sox have not been top contenders for several years. Both the Cardinals and Cubs missed the playoffs that season, and the Astros vs. the World story didn't last past the AL Wild Card Series.

The Dodgers-Padres rivalry in its current form really took off after an 89-win Padres team defeated a 111-win Dodgers team in the 2022 NLDS. Both teams' recent successes and their willingness to compete for top talent in the free agent and trade markets continue to drive momentum.

Manny Machado was at the center of some controversy during this year's NLDS, first for his reaction to Jack Flaherty hitting teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch and then for a closely analyzed throw of a baseball into the Dodgers' dugout in Game 2.

The Dodgers crowd also caused a stir in Game 2 when they threw baseballs at Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar during warmups and threw trash onto the field during a subsequent delay, causing the game to be suspended for 10 minutes became. Can they match the intensity we saw in Petco Park's last two games without doing something stupid?

With no heart lost between these two division rivals and both teams facing elimination, emotions will be extremely high on Friday night.

If only this was a seven game series…