LOS ANGELES ― It was purely by coincidence that Major League Baseball announced its postseason schedule on the same day the Dodgers announced Walker Buehler would undergo season-ending surgery. In the playoffs, a star-studded starting rotation can be paramount to making a deep run.

In typical playoffs, that is.

The best-of-five National League Division Series could feature an unusual schedule this season. If the series goes to five games, there will be no travel day between Games 4 and 5, which are scheduled to be played in different cities on Oct. 15 and 16, respectively.

Similarly, the best-of-seven NL Championship Series features only one off-day, a travel day between Games 2 and 3. If the series goes to six or seven games, there will be no off day between Games 5 and 6, which will be played in different cities on Oct. 23-24.

The schedule was tweaked to accommodate the extra wild-card team in each league, which MLB added as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLB Players’ Association. The corresponding best-of-three wild-card series will begin Oct. 7, immediately following a regular season delayed by a lockout that dragged into spring training.

Even with the elimination of the two off days, the World Series will begin on the relatively late date of Oct. 28. Game 7, if necessary, will be played on Nov. 5.

Who stands to benefit most from the new format?

Teams with deep starting rotations – like the Dodgers, who have gotten only 12 starts from Buehler but still lead MLB with a 2.73 rotation ERA through Thursday. Dodger starters have a .753 winning percentage, which would rank second all-time – and the best since 1906 – if they can maintain it for a full season.

“I think any time you’re going to have consecutive games in a series, you have to tap into more depth because of usage,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “If you’re talking about 14 (pitchers) on a roster, I like our 14.”

The Dodgers’ active roster features four healthy starting pitchers in Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney. The quartet will be joined on Saturday by Dustin May, who will be activated from the injured list to start against the Miami Marlins.

In this postseason, having three reliable starting pitchers isn’t enough, Roberts said.

“In that (NLDS) yeah you do (have to have four), and then the way they did the (NLCS) might be five,” he said. “Having the starting depth is going to be paramount.”

KERSHAW UPDATE

Clayton Kershaw’s timetable to rejoin the rotation came into sharper focus Friday.

The left-hander threw a 30-pitch bullpen, his first since he went on the injured list on Aug. 5 with lower back pain. Kershaw’s back is now asymptomatic, allowing him and the Dodgers to dream more confidently about an early September return.

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“It’s right on par with what we were hoping for initially,” Roberts said. “You’re looking at another (batting practice), a simulated game, then an activation.”

Roberts said it hasn’t been determined whether the three-time Cy Young Award winner will go on a minor league rehabilitation assignment before he returns to the Dodgers.

ALSO

Relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol faced three batters and retired two in his latest minor league rehabilitation game with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The right-hander threw nine of his 14 pitches for strikes. … Graterol was scheduled to return home after pitching Thursday, but Oklahoma City’s game was rained out. … Yency Almonte (elbow) threw from up to 120 feet as the right-hander continued his throwing progression.

UP NEXT

Marlins (LHP Braxton Garrett, 2-6, 3.67 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Dustin May, 0-0, 0.00 ERA), Saturday, 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM