The switch makes Yoshinobu Yamamoto available for a potential Game 5 on an extra day of rest as he’s had for every outing this season, with Andrew Friedman saying the moves are about creating

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters Thursday that Jack Flaherty will no longer take the ball in Game 1. Instead, the Dodgers will send rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the bump on Saturday in order to have the 26-year-old available to pitch in a possible win-or-go-home Game 5.

The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres instead of Jack Flaherty in an effort to give them more flexibility.