LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Dodgers walked into this postseason as the team to beat. The Dodgers are the hunted. That’s what a 111-51 regular season record will do for you. From start to finish of the regular season, the Dodgers played like the best team in baseball. And they were.
Now comes the playoffs. The Dodgers are favorites to make it to the World Series. The first step towards that goal is getting past the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series (NLDS). The Dodgers are favorites to win it all because of their recent track record in the postseason.
Since Dave Roberts took over as manager in 2016, the Dodgers have made three World Series appearances, winning it all after the Covid-19-shortened season in 2020. In 2021, the Dodgers won 106 games and were expected to be back in the World Series. That quest ended in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
With so much success in the past and the combination of falling short of the World Series last season, the stakes are really high for the Dodgers to advance to the big stage again. That might be a lot of pressure for the team to operate under, but Justin Turner does not see it that way. The Dodgers designated hitter sees it as an opportunity.
“No. I think pressure is probably not a good way to look at it,” Turner said before Game 1 of the NLDS. “It’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to accomplish something that we’ve been working towards since day one of spring training. I think on day one the goal was to win a World Series.
“It wasn’t to win 111 games and set a franchise record and all that stuff. Obviously, that’s a big part of it and that’s an important step, winning the division and winning as many games as possible to make sure we make it to this point. We see it as an opportunity,” Justin Turner added.”
Of course, the playoffs are played quite differently than the regular season. Teams adjust. The pitching gets more stingy. The hitting is more precise. With that in mind, the Dodgers should be able to answer the bell in every way possible. Roberts is happy to have the team where it is, he said.
“I’m really excited. I don’t show it, but inside I’m thrilled,” Roberts remarked before Game 1. “I really am. I don’t do a good job of that because all I’m thinking about is beating Clevinger and the Padres tonight. But when you look back, it’s pretty remarkable. Andrew said it a few weeks ago. It’s like if you can’t kind of enjoy these moments, what are we doing this for? Really proud of our entire organization. Excited for the fans. I just want to win tonight.”
Roberts and the Dodgers secured Game 1 of the NLDS with a 5-3 win at Dodger Stadium. Spearheaded by a solo home run in the first inning by Trea Turner, the Dodgers jumped on the Padres with a 2-0 lead.
The Dodgers made it 5-0 by the end of the third inning. San Diego made it a game when they scored all three of their runs in the top half of the fifth inning.
That was it for the scoring department as both teams got work from their bullpen to close out the game. The Dodgers, going through five San Diego pitchers, connected on hittable balls for only six hits. After Julio Urias went through five innings of good baseball, Roberts brought in four relievers to finish the game.
Despite the number of pitchers he had on the mound, Roberts thought Urias pitched well enough to help his ballclub get the win.
“Julio was good. I thought he was good,” Roberts said. “That fifth inning I just think that Myers hit a good breaking ball down below, put a good swing on it. They just did a nice job building an inning right there.
Roberts continued, “I thought during that inning, I don’t recall how many pitches he threw, I just thought that the breaking ball just started not to be as sharp. The life to the fastball, even the Profar, the last ball that he flew out just didn’t have the life to it. I felt he did his job for the night. To give us five innings, three runs, got the win, really nice job.”
Urias admitted in his postgame interview that he was definitely able to go longer than the five innings he pitched.
“Yeah, it’s the postseason,” Urias said. “You feel that rush. You feel that adrenaline going through your veins, and you want to go out there and pitch as long as you can. Like I said, I always respect the decisions they make, and that was my time to go and do the best you can. At the end of the day, all we want to do is win, and that’s what we did.”
Besides the great work by the bullpen, the Dodgers won Game 1 with timely hitting. Speaking of which, Trea Turner got the Dodgers on the right foot when he blessed a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Despite having just six hits, the Dodgers made them count.
“Just doing what we do,” Trea Turner said. “Getting the good counts, battle, take our walks if he gives it to us. Hit the ball hard when we get a good pitch to hit. We’ve seen a lot of them lately, especially in the last month or so this season. Kind of knew what to expect. Still have to execute and still have to get the results, but I think we just were ourselves and didn’t give anything away.”
Featured Image Caption: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias. Photo courtesy of TGSportstv1
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com