3 years ago
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LOS ANGELES — Have we mentioned this isn’t thing similar past year? (Actually, we have.)
A twelvemonth ago, the Dodgers faced a 3-1 bid shortage against the Atlanta Braves and won 3 elimination games en way to the World Series and yet a championship. Already this year, the Dodgers person won 3 much elimination games, but present they indispensable triumph 3 much to support their championship.
The likelihood are ne'er successful your favour erstwhile you way a best-of-seven bid 3-1. But for these Dodgers, they’re adjacent much daunting, and the chances of pulling disconnected different stirring comeback are adjacent much remote. More likely, their play and their title defence volition extremity Thursday nighttime successful The Ravine against Max Fried, the left-hander from Harvard-Westlake.
Why is this 1 truthful different?
Working backward, see the seventh inning Wednesday night. Down 5-2, the Dodgers showed immoderate beingness erstwhile pinch-hitter Albert Pujols smacked a azygous to near and pitcher Walker Buehler ran for him. Justin Turner deed a crushed shot to 2nd baseman Ozzie Albies, who was positioned to the near of second, stepped connected the container and threw to archetypal for a treble play … arsenic Turner pulled up halfway down the baseline and limped to first.
“Early indication, it’s a Grade 2” hamstring strain, Manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “So I deliberation that volition beryllium it for him.”
So, let’s see: No Turner. No Max Muncy truthful acold this postseason (and it’s astir definite that if the Dodgers tin regenerate Turner connected the roster, it won’t beryllium Muncy). Wednesday was different violative snoozer, 2 runs and 4 hits, and for 4-1/3 innings the Dodgers were no-hit successful a bullpen game.
The #BoomOrBust hashtag was a existent happening during the regular season, adjacent arsenic it seemed similar a first-world occupation successful a 106-victory season. In this series, it has go an albatross immense capable to extremity the Dodgers’ year. Through 4 games, the defending champs are hitting .219, person a squad OPS of .671 and person scored 14 runs, six of them successful Game 3.
And Roberts admitted helium doesn’t person immoderate answers. That’s not terribly reassuring.
Outside of the fifth, erstwhile they got their 2 runs, “we conscionable truly didn’t threaten,” helium said. “Yeah, I conscionable truly don’t person an answer. I deliberation that they conscionable outplayed america successful each facets. … Relatively, they’re getting onslaught 1 and they’re expanding (the zone), and I deliberation conversely, they’re being assertive early.”
But beyond the futility against Wednesday night’s six Braves pitchers is the world that the Dodgers haven’t strung 2 productive games unneurotic this postseason. Obviously, Muncy’s wounded has near a gaping spread successful the mediate of the batting order, but adjacent erstwhile Muncy was successful the lineup during the regular play the Dodgers had mode excessively galore of these violative walkabouts.
“I cognize it’s not from deficiency of enactment and preparation, truthful the past portion of it and astir important is execution,” Roberts said. “I just, I don’t person an answer. Every clip I constitute the lineup retired I consciousness precise bully astir our nine and however we lucifer up, and way records and what we’re going to bash that peculiar night, but it conscionable hasn’t been arsenic accordant (as hoped). … We got to alteration that, and the lone mode we tin bash it is tomorrow. So I privation I had an answer, judge me, I do.
“But again, Fried isn’t going to consciousness atrocious for us. He’s going to spell for the jugular. He’s got large worldly and we got to compete. … Our backs are against the partition and nary one’s going to consciousness sorry. We got to find a mode to accent him, get guys connected base, and propulsion them across, that’s conscionable the bottommost line.”
Maybe this genuinely is simply a squad that needs to person its backmost to the partition to respond. But consider: Not lone is this a squad without Muncy and present without Turner. It’s a squad that past twelvemonth had platoon players the caliber of Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernández, some of whom person had torrid postseasons successful different uniforms.
Meanwhile, the names Roberts discussed arsenic a imaginable roster replacement for Turner included Billy McKinney, Zach McKinstry and Andy Burns. One of their important reserves successful this bid is Steven Souza Jr., who was designated for duty astatine midseason.
Their celebrated depth, successful different words, is present paper-thin, arsenic are their existent chances of climbing retired of different 3-1 hole. And erstwhile you see that Pederson and Hernández some could person returned arsenic escaped agents (and according to a study successful The Athletic were fundamentally informed they should question different offers), the disagreement betwixt 2020 and 2021 becomes adjacent clearer.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter
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