Through 162 games of the regular season, the Dodgers’ lineup proved to be the best in baseball, and one of the best ever. They comfortably led the Majors with 847 runs. Los Angeles did it in different ways, not always relying on the homer, though it was third best in the National League at that. The Dodgers have the star power at the top and the perfect complimentary pieces at the bottom. It’s the deepest lineup they’ve had during this dominant 10-year stretch. They have never shown any weaknesses offensively. Until now, and it has come at the worst possible time.
After winning a franchise-record 111 games during the regular season, the Dodgers will face elimination on Saturday following Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Padres in Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park. Through three games, the story for the Dodgers has been the same. Their at-bats with runners in scoring position haven’t been up to their standards and they’ve failed to come up with timely hits in this series.
Just a week ago, it was hard to envision a scenario in which the Dodgers would be facing elimination just four games into the NLDS. The Dodgers dominated the Padres in the regular season, winning 14 of the 19 meetings. They also looked like the most complete team in a Game 1 victory. But over the last 72 hours, the Padres look like the more confident team. Now, the Dodgers are hoping to avoid becoming the sixth team to drop a postseason series to a team they took every regular-season series against, as Los Angeles won all six series against San Diego in 2022.
