The Dodgers swept the Brewers 2-0 in a best two-out-of-three Wild Card series. Manager Dave Roberts and his ballclub moved onto the Division Series with relative ease. There wasn’t really wasn’t any point where the Dodgers didn’t look in control. The bullpen pitched a scoreless six innings in the first game and got nice help from Clayton Kershaw in the second game. Kershaw looked like every bit of his three-time Cy Young award-winning self, pitching a scoreless eight innings alongside an insane 13 strikeouts.
If the Dodgers can get that same version of Kershaw for the rest of October, it will certainly be a nightmare for opposing lineups. Now, with the next series being best out of five, we will get a look at who that third postseason starter will be. Julio Urias, who’s been a candidate for that role, looked great pitching out of the bullpen in Game 1. Urias pitched three innings, allowing three hits and striking out five. Others who’ve been talked about as a third starter are Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, who both didn’t make an appearance in the Wild Card round.
The Dodgers rode the hot bats off the same hitters that they’ve been doing all season. Mookie Betts had three doubles and three RBI in the series. Chris Taylor went 3-for-6, and Corey Seager hit the only Dodger homer in the Wild Card round.
It will be interesting to see if they are any changes to the postseason roster. Roberts elected to leave right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro off the roster for the first round. Instead, Roberts went with veteran speedster Terrance Gore, who is mostly used in pinch-running situations. Also, making the roster was rookie Keibert Ruiz, as the Dodgers carried three catchers against the Brewers.
With the series win, the Dodgers played their last game of the season in Dodger Stadium and will now head to Texas for the Division Series which will begin Tuesday, October 5. At the time of this publication, the Dodgers don’t know if they will face the Cardinals or the Padres. The Padres had a huge rally to force a win or go home Game 3—first pitch for that game is Friday at 4:08 p.m. Pacific, if anyone wants to get a preview of whoever the next Dodgers opponent will be.
The Dodgers have never faced the Padres in the postseason—barring that, the Padres haven’t been in the postseason much in recent memory. However, the Dodgers do have a lengthy postseason history with the Cardinals, most recently matching up with them in the 2013 NLCS and 2014 NLDS, with the Dodgers being eliminated in both.
As you all may be aware, the Dodgers didn’t face the Cardinals this season, as they only played teams in the West divisions. The Dodgers faced the Padres ten times this season and tallied a 6-4 record against them. The last series between the Padres and Dodgers did have a playoff-type atmosphere to it, and if they meet in the postseason, it will surely be a fun series.
Whoever the team may be I feel confident in this Dodgers team, as it could very well be the best Dodger team they’ve had in recent history, although 2017 is probably up there as well. This team is hungry and ready to cement their rightful postseason legacies.
Bob Gibson and Lou Johnson both passed away today. Big loss for both the Dodger and Cardinal family’s. Dodgers-Padres. I think the Dodgers experience in the playoffs is going to be the deciding factor in this series. I am not really afraid of the Padres staff. They have a road ERA more than a point higher than LA> And I also think the home field advantage will show itself at some point. Last at bats in a short series are huge. The one thing I disagree with in these particular playoffs is that they should reseed after the wild card round. The Dodgers being the # 1 should not be playing the # 4 Padres. They should be playing the Marlins who were the # 6 seed.
Agree about the seeding. But, the Marlins did what they needed to do, as did the Asstros. We knew weird things were possible in this bizarre year.
Just read we have a 64% win probability in this series. Sounds right. If everyone hits.
If everyone hits? Does that include Muncy, Belli and Joc? I think the odds of that happening are about 2%. What’s 2% of 64%? Of course their odds go way down if they don’t have Clevinger and Lamet.
Yes, that absolutely includes Bellinger. I don’t have any confidence in Muncy. If both start hitting it makes the Dodgers clear favorites. If they don’t, somebody has to make up for it. I don’t think we can count on 3 runs being enough going forward.