In these buoyant days of spring, Dodgers followers blithely predicted their star-studded and well-financed group would win, say, 125 video games. No main league group had received greater than 116 however, if the Dodgers had been going to smash baseball, they might have a rattling good time doing it.
Then the season began, and with it the ups and downs, and the accidents and the inconsistencies. The Dodgers received the Nationwide League West, after all, however with what they might contemplate a really modest 93 wins.
Finally, far later than their followers anticipated, they roared. They closed the common season by profitable 5 of their last six collection. They swept the Cincinnati Reds within the wild-card spherical. They dismissed the Philadelphia Phillies in 4 video games within the division collection.
The Dodgers have gone 20-6 over these previous 5 weeks. That could be a .769 profitable share, which over a full season would translate into … 125 victories.
The Dodgers have superior to baseball’s last 4, shedding simply as soon as in six postseason video games. If these are the true Dodgers, the remainder of the league seems to be in bother.
However what if these aren’t the true Dodgers? The Dodgers are profitable however, because the cliche goes, are they hitting on all cylinders?
“Not but,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned amid the group’s second champagne celebration in 9 days.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith smiled on the query of whether or not the Dodgers have one other gear inside them.
“I feel there’s one other gear,” Smith mentioned. “Take a look at Shohei.”
Ohtani, the defending most dear participant and the presumed repeat winner, had one hit in 18 at-bats within the division collection. He struck out 9 occasions.
He scored a franchise-record and league-leading 146 runs this season, nearly one each recreation. Within the 4 video games of the division collection, he neither hit a house run or scored a run.
“He didn’t do a lot this collection,” Smith mentioned. “I count on subsequent collection for him to return out and hit like 5 homers. That’s simply who he’s.”
The Dodgers’ starters are wholesome and efficient on the proper time. In six postseason video games, the Dodgers have 5 high quality begins. They’ve deployed one other starter as a better and one more as a setup man, and the remainder of their bullpen would possibly charitably be described as a piece in progress.
Within the four-game division collection, they batted .199 with extra errors (three) than house runs (two).
Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman every went 4 for 17, Teoscar Hernández 4 for 16, Freddie Freeman three for 15, Andy Pages 0 for 15.
“I feel we received this collection as a result of we pitched rather well,” utility participant Kiké Hernández mentioned.
Because the gamers doused each other in celebration, the Dodgers readily gave credit score to a Phillies pitching employees that may charge as the most effective they may face this October. On this collection, the Phillies posted a 2.87 earned-run common and the Dodgers posted a 3.32 ERA.
“That’s a fantastic group over there,” Roberts mentioned. “We took each punch that they threw at us.
That mentioned …
“I feel that we might be higher,” Hernández mentioned. “We didn’t essentially defend the way in which we will defend. We didn’t hit the way in which we will hit. Though we beat a extremely, actually good group, we might be even higher.
“That simply speaks volumes about this group. We’ve got gone by way of a lot collectively. We’re battle-tested, and we’re going to discover a solution to win a ballgame even when issues aren’t going our method.”
On Thursday, they superior to their seventh NLCS in 10 seasons by profitable a recreation by which they didn’t get an extra-base hit, or successful with a runner in scoring place. Within the common season, they led the NL in runs and residential runs.
On Wednesday, earlier than the Dodgers misplaced their solely recreation this postseason, third baseman Max Muncy scoffed on the notion the group was hitting on all cylinders.
“I nonetheless assume there’s one other gear in there,” Muncy mentioned. “I don’t assume we absolutely reached the place we might be at. And that’s not saying we’re, and that’s not saying we aren’t. However I nonetheless assume there’s an entire different degree in there we haven’t reached but.”
What would inform you that you just’ve reached it?
“I feel you’ll know,” he smiled to a gathering of reporters. There was laughter within the room, and room for his already completed group to develop.
