State of Dodgers’ October rotation remains extremely unclear

ANAHEIM — When it comes to the starting rotation the Dodgers will take into the postseason, only one thing is truly clear – clarity is still weeks away.

Only Jack Flaherty and Gavin Stone in the current rotation appear certain to start games in October. Ideally, the Dodgers would like a healthy Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to join them.

On the injured list with elbow tendinitis, Glasnow began a throwing program on Friday and was throwing from 120 feet in the outfield before Tuesday’s game against the Angels. He said he expects to throw off a mound for the first time since the injury on Friday or Saturday when the Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would not hazard a guess as to when Glasnow could rejoin the rotation until after he starts throwing off a mound. But Roberts did say three starts before the end of the regular season is the “best-case scenario” for Glasnow at this point.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto made his second start on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. The hope was he would pitch three innings and throw a fourth in the bullpen to further extend his pitch count.

It didn’t go that way. Instead, Yamamoto gave up two runs in the first inning on a walk and two hits then walked the leadoff batter in the second inning – on 17 pitches. Yamamoto got ahead of journeyman catcher Omar Narvaez, 0-and-2, but Narvaez fouled off 11 pitches on his way to drawing the walk.

Yamamoto retired the side after that, striking out two. But the Narvaez at-bat inflated his pitch count and he came out of the game after just two innings and 53 pitches. Yamamoto could make another rehab start or join the Dodgers’ rotation early next week with a limited pitch count.

In the meantime, the two-game series in Anaheim will feature two right-handers trying to pitch their way into the postseason picture – Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller.

Neither has earned that status with their seasons to date and figure to be on the outside looking in if Glasnow and Yamamoto return. They will each start a game during the series against the Angels.

“This is a big start for Walker, certainly given the health of our rotation,” Roberts said before his start Tuesday. “He had his best start in quite some time his last turn, and I expect him to build off of it. He’s got to be in playoff mode, because there’s only so many opportunities for him to get prepared and earn that right to start a postseason game.”

Miller will get a chance to make his case on Wednesday.

“Same thing applies for Bobby. Absolutely,” Roberts said. “They both have an opportunity to right the ship. … They both have an opportunity to salvage this season.”

Buehler made a positive step with one of his better starts Tuesday. He allowed five hits in five innings, two of them solo home runs, while striking out six.

“Performance will dictate everything,” Roberts said. “We’ve got a lot of things going on as far as injuries. And all we can deal with is, who’s taking the baseball, and he’s one of the five right now, and he’s got to pitch well.”

Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw has begun wearing a walking boot to relieve pressure on his injured left foot. Kershaw has continued to throw in the outfield each day, but when he can return to throwing off a mound is very much an unknown.

UP NEXT

Dodgers (RHP Bobby Miller, 2-3, 7.25 ERA) at Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 4-12, 5.19  ERA), Wednesday, 6;30 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM