The Los Angeles Dodgers were unable to build off Tuesday’s thrilling comeback win and now find themselves on the brink of elimination against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
L.A. was in the same situation last year as they faced a 3-1 deficit before winning three consecutive games to advance to the World Series. “No one needs to really tell anyone that we can do it. We’ve done it. We’ve been here,” AJ Pollock said after the Dodgers’ 9-2 loss in Game 4.
“Obviously we got to grind, but we win, we’re not in a bad spot. So it’s going to be a big day. We got to regroup. We got to get after it and anything can happen if we win [Thursday].”
The Dodgers’ postseason journey thus far has consisted of defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Game and taking the San Francisco Giants to the maximum five games in the NL Division Series.
Some have speculated fatigue is finally catching up to the Dodgers, but Pollock doesn’t see it that way and believes the club simply needs to execute better. “I mean, every ballclub that’s here has gone through a lot of baseball. I wouldn’t say that’s it. Obviously we just got to execute,” he said.
“You can be tired and execute, so I don’t think it has anything to do with being tired. You get the question and it’s like, ‘Oh they were pushed the entire way and maybe that’s what drove them.’
“So I don’t really see that as something going on. Guys are showing up ready to play. We’re excited to play and we just didn’t execute.”
Roberts: Dodgers ‘equipped’ to win Game 5
After coming out flat in Game 4, the Dodgers must quickly turn the page if they hope to send the NLCS back to Atlanta. “You never want to have your back against the wall. That’s not how you draw it up,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“But we have a very resilient team, a very tough team, and it’s not going to get much tougher than facing Max Fried in an elimination game, but we’ve done it before. Like I said, we got to win and I really believe we’re equipped to win [Thursday’s] ballgame.”
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