When the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into San Francisco for a three-game weekend set securing home-field advantage in the National League Division Series remained mathematically possible. However, in suffering a second consecutive loss on Saturday, that was dashed.
The Dodgers were swept by the Giants, who in turn earned a spot in Wednesday’s NL Wild Card Game against the New York Mets. After clinching the NL West with a walk-off victory against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 25, the Dodgers went 1-5 to close out the regular season.
“In talking to a couple of the coaches I think that’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to have to hit the reset button,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Sunday’s 7-1 loss.
“It was a crazy week with some highs and obviously some lows. … When you’re trying to play the middle, get guys rested, line up your rotation, get guys seen, and things like that, it’s really against what we’ve done all year.”
The Dodgers’ struggles were in part tied to facing four consecutive left-handed starters from Thursday-Sunday; they went 1-3 over that span. Roberts lamented his club’s at-bat quality, which was a focal point throughout the season.
Los Angeles is expected to use Monday as an off-day. They’ll hold a workout at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, travel to Washignton D.C. early Wednesday and work out at Nationals Park that evening, and hold a workout in the nation’s capital on Thursday.
“We’ll be ready to go on Friday,” Roberts said. Probable starters for Game 1 of the NLDS matchup are Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer.
