Similar to the start of each playoff round, the pitchers for a scheduled play-in game are unlocked so that the manager may choose his desired starting pitcher for the important, post-season deciding game.
If a set of round-robin play-in games are scheduled (due to a 3-way tie), the rotation is unlocked only for the first game. The second game in the round-robin will be based on the rotation order following the selection of the starting pitcher in the first game.
If multiple rounds of play-in games are necessary, the rotation is unlocked at the time each game is added to the schedule. This may occur if one play-in game is required to settle a division and another subsequent game is required to settle the wild card.