One other 100-win season results in one other October flop for Dodgers

PHOENIX (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ third straight 100-win season led to a 3rd consecutive postseason flop.

A 3-game Division Sequence sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks that ended with a 4-2 defeat Wednesday evening highlighted how a lot expanded playoffs have devalued the common season.

“There’s some issues with the format that folks can dissect or no matter, however the backside line is that the final two years we’ve acquired outplayed within the postseason,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “It doesn’t matter if it was a seven-game collection, we misplaced the primary three video games. For me, I’ve acquired to do a greater job of determining a option to get our guys ready for the postseason. I’ll personal that.”

Los Angeles has reached the playoffs in 11 straight years, the third-longest streak in main league historical past behind the Atlanta Braves’ 14 from 1991-2005 across the 1994 strike and the New York Yankees’ 13 from 1995-2007.

The Dodgers received the NL West in 10 of these seasons, but their solely World Sequence in that span was following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Led by Roberts, they’ve 100 or extra wins in 5 of the final six full seasons.

Expectations as soon as once more had been excessive this yr, with a starry roster and a $222 million opening-day payroll, baseball’s fifth highest.

From April by September, they set the usual. Then in October, they turned so strange.

“Falling this manner, not solely does it damage, it’s embarrassing,” Dodgers heart fielder Kiké Hernández mentioned.

After profitable 106 video games in 2021, the Dodgers had been eradicated within the League Championship Sequence by the Atlanta Braves, who had 18 fewer wins.

After profitable an enormous league-best 111 video games final yr, Los Angeles was knocked out within the Division Sequence by San Diego, which had 22 fewer wins.

And after profitable 100 video games this season, the Dodgers had been swept by Arizona, which had 16 fewer wins.

Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn, who gave up 4 solo homers within the third inning, mixed to go 0-3 with a 25.07 ERA, .571 opponents’ batting common and 1.809 opponents’ OPS. They lasted a mixed 4 2/3 innings, the fewest outs for a workforce’s starters over the primary three video games of a postseason collection, based on the Elias Sports activities Bureau.

An overtaxed bullpen needed to get 64 of 78 outs.

Offense fizzled, too, following 5 off days brought on by a first-round bye.

Los Angeles scored a team-record 906 runs throughout the common season, second within the majors behind the Braves. The Dodgers scored two runs in every sport towards the Diamondbacks and hit .177.

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who mixed for 68 homers and 209 RBIs throughout the common season, completed the collection 1 for 21. With the potential tying run on the plate within the eighth inning, Betts struck out and dropped to 0 for 11 and Freeman whiffed and fell to 1 for 10.

“Me and a whole lot of us didn’t play the way in which we needed to,” Freeman mentioned. “I had pitches to hit all evening and rolled them over, similar to I’ve been doing for 5 weeks.”

Betts is 3 for 38 (.079) over his final 10 postseason video games.

“I did completely nothing to assist us win,” Betts mentioned. “You’ll be able to level to one million various things, however on the finish of the day, you bought to play effectively.”

Betts, Freeman, Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez all topped 100 RBIs throughout the season. They mixed for one towards the Diamondbacks, on Martinez’s Sport 2 solo homer.

“Going again to final yr and this yr, we’ve had a whole lot of runners in scoring place and we didn’t get the massive hit,” Muncy mentioned. “And within the postseason, the workforce that will get that large hit is the workforce that’s going to win. We simply didn’t try this in any respect for final a number of years and it price us.”

When Hernández flied out and the Dodgers had been swept in a postseason collection for the primary time since 2006, Freeman pounded the dugout rail twice. Martinez stared and walked down the runway. Los Angeles tied the second-longest postseason skid in franchise historical past at six.

Kershaw, a 10-time All-Star and 210-game winner, accomplished a $20 million, one-year contract and hasn’t mentioned whether or not he intends to pitch subsequent season. He was in line to pitch Sport 4 on Thursday,

“Disappointing irrespective of the way it ends in case you don’t win the entire thing, so, clearly, this one hurts loads simply due to the way it went down,” Kershaw mentioned. “Clearly, a horrible option to finish it personally however that’s finally not vital. It’s simply how I didn’t assist the workforce win the collection and that’s probably the most disappointing half, letting your guys down.”