NFL
By George Lopez
As the calendar flips its pages to October, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in familiar territory…playing in postseason baseball. The team ended the season with an MLB-best 98-64 record. The Dodgers will look to exercise their recent playoff demons as they enter the 2024 MLB playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, taking on their division rivals San Diego Padres in the NLDS.
Manager Dave Roberts boasts one of the most potent top 3 of a batting order with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman setting the tone for the Dodgers. The Dodgers expect to have Freddie Freeman back in the lineup for the playoffs as he suffered a sprained ankle late in the season. Ohtani makes his postseason debut as he looks to build on his season where he batted .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, and 59 stolen bases while becoming the first player in MLB history to join the 50/50 club.
The Dodgers will need Mookie Betts as a key contributor against San Diego. In last season’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, Betts went 0-11 in the series. The Dodgers cannot afford to have Betts go hitless against the Padres. Teoscar Hernandez is a player to watch in this series for the Dodgers. In his first season in LA, Hernandez batted .272 with 32 home runs and 99 RBIs. With Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman on base, Hernandez will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs and will need to take advantage of those opportunities.
The Dodgers will look to the bottom of their lineup to deliver in key moments throughout the series. Though the Dodgers have not officially announced their playoff roster, Tommy Edman should be expected to be on the roster. Since acquiring him at the trade deadline, Edman has been a valuable contributor for the Dodgers with his ability to play both in the infield as well as the outfield. With the uncertainty of the availability of Miguel Rojas, Edman figures to be in the starting lineup. If Edman plays shortstop for the Rojas, the Dodgers can go to Andy Pages, Chris Taylor, or Kiki Hernandez to play in center field.
The biggest question mark the Dodgers face for the playoffs is their pitching. The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been decimated by injuries all season as the team used 17 different starters this season. The Dodgers have announced their starters for games 1 and 2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the hill for the Dodgers in game 1 and Jack Flaherty will start in game 2. The prevailing thought was Flaherty would start game 1. Having Yamamoto start game one makes sense. If the series goes to a winner-take-all fifth game, Yamamoto would be available to start on an extra day of rest. With Flaherty starting game 2, he will be available to come out of the bullpen later in the series if needed. The Dodgers have announced that Walker Buehler and Landon Knack will also be starters in the series, though the team has not announced who will start game three. Clayton Kershaw, who has been hampered by a toe injury is not expected to be on the roster for the NLDS as the injury has not allowed him to progress in his recovery.
Due to the injuries to the starting rotation, the Dodgers bullpen has been used heavily this season. In September, the bullpen logged more innings pitched than the starters. The Dodgers will need their starters to give the team length in the series as the team has not had a starter record an out in the 6th inning of a playoff game since 2021. In the late innings, Roberts will rely on Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinan and Michael Kopech. Anthony Banda and Joe Kelley are expected to be on the playoff roster and will figure into Manager Dave Roberts pitching matchups throughout the series.
The San Diego Padres entered the postseason as the hottest team in MLB. The Padres boasted an MLB-best 43-20 record since the All-Star break. The Padres feature a potent lineup led by Fernando Tatis, Jr., Manny Machado, Luis Arraez, Xander Bogaerts, and possible Rookie of the Year Jackson Merrill. The Padres have been firing on all cylinders, challenging the Dodgers for the NL West championship until the last week of the season. Their excellent play continued the NL Wild Card series, where they swept the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers pitching staff will look to slow down a potent Padres offense.
While the Padres’ offense has been impressive, their pitching has been even more impressive. Dylan Cease will start game 1 for the Padres and Michael King is slated to start game 2. King was masterful in his playoff start against the Braves, allowing 5 hits in 7 scoreless innings while striking out 12 and not allowing a single walk. The Padres did suffer a potential blow as Joe Musgrove was forced to leave his playoff start due to elbow tightness. The Padres have not announced his status for the NLDS series. If Musgrove is unable to pitch, Martin Perez is expected to take his spot in the rotation. Yu Darvish will be the probable game 3 starter for the Padres.
The Padres have one of the best back ends of the bullpens in baseball, with Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez closing out games. The Dodgers will need to be disciplined at the plate, not chasing pitches out of the strike zone while building up the Padres starter’s pitch count early in the game. The Dodgers will look to get to the Padres’ middle relief pitchers and make their back 3 relievers a non-factor in this series.
The Padres have been the hottest team in MLB since the All-Star break and won the season series from the Dodgers this year. Though the Dodgers have been decimated by injuries all season, they still managed to post the best record in the MLB and hold off the Padres to win their 11th division championship in the last 12 years. Unlike previous seasons where the Dodgers wrapped up the division title early, this season they were in a fight for the division until the last week of the season. Having to battle for the entire season will actually help the Dodgers this postseason. Look for the Dodgers to advance to the NLCS with a hard-fought series win against the Padres in 5 games.
