At face value, it appears to be another typical Los Angeles Dodgers playoff series ahead, with Clayton Kershaw starting in Game 1 of the National League Division Series Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yet this matchup promises to be something new entirely. In the playoffs for the 11th consecutive year, but with one 2020 World Series title to show for it, perhaps it was time for the Dodgers to unveil something different. Los Angeles will employ a group-effort pitching strategy, with shorter starts, possible bullpen games and a "piggy-back" plan where two or more pitchers throw multiple innings each. While it sounds like a full buy-in on next-level analytics, the Dodgers instead are operating out of necessity because of injury, performance uncertainty and the arrival of several rookie pitchers getting their first taste of the playoffs.Arizona will send right-hander Merrill Kelly to the mound in Game 1. And while he was impressive in the 2023 regular season, Kelly (12-8, 3.29 ERA) has a terrible history against the Dodgers. In 16 career regular-season starts vs. Los Angeles, he is 0-11 with a 5.49 ERA, while Betts has three home runs and a .351 on-base percentage against him. We like both teams to score runs here tonight and will roll with the over.