The Los Angeles Dodgers entrenched themselves as the top-seed in the National League heading into the postseason and also finished with the best record in baseball to secure home-field advantage through the World Series.
By being among the top-two NL division winners, the Dodgers again secured a first-round bye in the playoffs rather than needing to play a Wild Card Series.
In recent seasons, the Dodgers have felt snake bit by the layoff time between the end of the season and start of the NLDS. Teams that played in the Wild Card round seemingly had a better feel for October baseball and a slight advantage on the surface.
The Dodgers are again hopeful to shake that, as general manager Brandon Gomes noted they are mindful of finding ways to get ahead of that potential hurdle, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We’re trying to figure out, hey, how do we cram some intensity into the back end without it dragging and feeling like that five-day layoff?” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said.
Simulated games, situational at-bats and scrimmages are some ways the Dodgers can keep themselves hot during their time off. Gomes noted the team has a rough outline for how they’ll approach it it throughout the week:
“We’re going to play some games on Wednesday and Thursday and try to make it so that our guys aren’t facing our guys,” Gomes said. “We’ll have enough ‘stay-hot’ guys (players who won’t be on the NLDS roster but will continue working out in case they are needed) or guys from Triple-A, guys that are on the roster but haven’t been here. Make it such that we’re not pitching tentatively to one of our own players so guys can get after it more like they would normally.
“I know our pitchers don’t like throwing to our guys. So eliminating that I think is helpful. And – I know I wouldn’t want to face (Michael) Kopech or Blake (Treinen), you know what I mean? You can just throw those at-bats out the window as far as being productive.”
Intensity is immediately elevated in the playoffs, naturally, but the Dodgers bypassing the first round because of their play in the regular season was the best for the roster and lining up pitching.
As far as the offense, mirroring some of the high-octane pitching is a work in progress:
“Talking with our hitting guys, they’re coming up with some stuff we’re going to do so our guys can face high-velo and things they’re going to do to face high-octane stuff between to get additional reps,” Gomes said.
The Dodgers kick off the NLDS on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, with their first opponent being the Atlanta Braves or the San Diego Padres. Because the Dodgers having history with both of those clubs, familiarity figures to play a role.
Dodgers NLDS workouts
Avoiding a slow start in the postseason is on the mind of the Dodgers as a whole. Early exits in the NLDS in the last two seasons to the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks created a wave of anguish.
Players must shake the demon of losing to a division opponent in back-to-back years, creating their own version of coming in hot.
One notable adjustment the Dodgers made this year was having a voluntary workout on Tuesday rather than making it mandatory.
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