While the Los Angeles Dodgers ended the 2024 MLB postseason by winning an eighth World Series title in franchise history, their October run nearly was over as quickly as it began.
The Dodgers faced a National League West opponent in the Division Series for a third consecutive year by matching up with the San Diego Padres after they swept the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series.
Like in 2021, the Padres took a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers and were in position to close out the NLDS at home. But L.A. staved off elimination with back-to-back wins and weren’t pushed to the brink again en route to being crowned World Series champions.
When asked for his assessment of the Padres and how they compared to later facing the New York Yankees, Alex Vesia joined a growing chorus of believing the NLDS was a tougher matchup for the Dodgers, via the “Foul Territory” show:
“Yeah, probably. I could say that I think their lineup, they switched guys out a little bit more. I think the Yankees kind of got handcuffed a little bit towards the end with who they had and what lineup they wanted to bring out. The Padres’ bullpen, the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, that bullpen was just dude after dude after dude that threw 95 to 100 (mph), sliders, changeups, splitters.
“They were coming at us with everything. So I think it makes it a little bit harder for our lineup to navigate that, but we did a great job. Getting into deeper counts and making them make more pitches, when we can work a count to 2-2 rather than just getting out in those first couple pitches, it changes the whole game.”
Neither the Padres or Yankees made sweeping changes with their respective lineups while facing the Dodgers, but the San Diego bullpen was widely touted as the best group.
At the time of the Dodgers and Padres playing in the NLDS, most projected the winner would go on to become the eventual World Series champion. The Dodgers were a heavy World Series favorite heading into the 2024 season and the Padres emerged as one of the hottest teams in baseball after the All-Star break.
But those with the Dodgers did not publicly express such a sentiment until manager Dave Roberts’ recent comments during his appearance on Mookie Betts’ podcast. Roberts referred to the NLDS as the World Series.
Alex Vesia’s playoff stats
Vesia threw three scoreless innings across three appearances in the NLDS but was left off the Dodgers’ playoff roster for the Championship Series because of an intercostal injury.
He returned for the World Series and threw 2.2 scoreless innings in four games.
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