Post-World Series Game 5 Thread: Bent, But Not Broken

The baseball gods have frowned upon the Dodgers for a long time. Kershaw knows it.

DODGERS 4, RAYS 2

This one, just like last night's Game 4 debacle, could have gone either way.

There were plenty of situations in this game where the momentum narratives could have crystallized. The Dodgers, after an inexplicable failure in Game 4, could come out flat. Clayton Kershaw would buckle in his second series start. Doc Roberts would make more foolish pitching change decisions. Dustin May isn't up to the big stage. Chris Taylor can't repair the hole in his glove's webbing (actually, this narrative unfortunately continued in Game 5, as he failed to catch an Austin Barnes throw to second, allowing an extra base). If Kenley Jansen can't close, no one else can, either.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, all (but one) of those narratives were rendered obsolete. But it wasn't easy, it was a gutty tightrope performance in which the final run scored in the top of the fifth (Max Muncy's moon shot), and it was edge-of-your-seat baseball from there on. Before moving on, here's Muncy's home run, another Muncy home run for the ages:

Just like this Muncy World Series home run highlight:

Or this Muncy home run highlight:

Okay I gotta calm down here. Kershaw was great--not as good as some of his other 2020 playoff starts, but 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 6 Ks was good enough for the Dodgers and also good enough to take first place in all-time postseason strikeouts, an impressive feat. Kershaw's 2.93 ERA over 30.2 IP in the 2020 postseason amassed 37 Ks--a heck of an improvement over the 4.42 ERA prior to this WS that harbors all the biases of leaving him in too long and making Kershaw do spot starts on short rest. Kershaw has the most postseason innings pitched of anyone who has not won a World Series. And in the 2020 World Series, Kershaw certainly did his part.

As did Dave Roberts, whose hook on Kershaw after two quick one-pitch outs in the sixth led many Dodger fans to go nuts. But it was the right decision, not only to go to Dustin May and restore the poor kid's confidence (May turned in a great performance, starting with a 101-mph strikeout of Tampa Bay cleanup hitter Manuel Margot, and continuing on into a scoreless seventh inning).

I was struggling with the decision to pull Kershaw then, but knew it was the right one, even at the time, with all the emotion flowing. I couldn't bear to see Kershaw make one bad pitch and lose a chance at the win. The sixth inning is widely known as Kershaw's postseason bugaboo; he has a 3.53 ERA in the first five innings, but a 7.09 ERA after that. Kershaw struggled through the third and fourth innings, until Margot made an ill-fated decision to try and steal home, and Kershaw threw to Barnes, who nabbed his ass at the plate for the third out..

Us Sons thought that Margot's brash move pissed Kershaw off, so much so that he came back in the fifth for a clean 1-2-3 inning (2 Ks), and then the two-pitch, two-out start to the sixth inning. But watching Kershaw earlier, he was really on fumes before the Margot CS. It was going to be a matter of time before the adrenaline wore off and he was just a bit more mortal again.

The Dodgers bullpen led by May, a fine clutch performance by Victor Gonzalez, and a strong ninth by Blake I'm-Not-Jansen Treinen, secured the victory for the Dodgers, as the Rays didn't score again after the third and didn't really have a threat after Margot's inning-ending CS. But the two-run lead was so precarious, you felt the pressure whenever the Rays got one on. Not to mention, the Rays bullpen did quick work on our offense and held us scoreless after Glasnow's departure: Will Smith and Chris Taylor again disappointed, this time with 0-for-4 performances each; Justin Turner had more defensive gems in Game 5, but also went 0-for-4 from the plate.

So the Dodgers take the 3-2 series lead by getting back to business, yet it still feels out of reach. Tony Gonsolin has had a poor World Series outing on top of a bad NLCS Game 7 experience. Sure, he could turn it around after Roberts' sit-down discussion with him and May (which apparently happened before Game 5). Or, strange things like Game 4 can happen, and we choke our way into a Game 7.

We haven't fared well in bullpen games. And we still aren't getting to Tampa Bay's bullpen, either. So let's see.

World Series Game 4 Thread: Oct 24 @ Rays, 5p

Barnes, Injury Attorney

Urias vs. Yarbrough.

Last night, backup catcher Austin Barnes made the most of this 2020 moment. After being left off the 2019 postseason roster altogether, the light-hitting Barnes not only coaxed Walker Buehler into a dominant starting pitching performance, he also notched a crazy World Series bunt-plus-home-run statistic that had only been matched by Hector Lopez in 1961.

And last night gave a number of signs that the Dodgers' 2020 roster is up for pulling through in a true team effort. Justin Turner, whose defensive prowess in the 2020 postseason has kept us alive, but his bat has been uncommonly quiet (at .232 BA vs. a .307 regular season mark), led off the fireworks with a two-out first-inning home run. Max Muncy, who struggled all year to a subpar .192 batting average, had the two-run, two-out RBI single in the third that spelled the beginning of the end for Tampa Bay starter Charlie Morton. And then there's Barnes, a .198 batter on the season, erupting for a .350 BA and .861 OPS this postseason.

Chris Taylor and Will Smith both went 0-for-4 last night (Smith with a team-leading 4 LOB), but when the team is collectively 2-for-4 with RISP and collecting gut-punching two-out RBI hits, you can feel the offensive pressure even with those off nights.

It's a stark contrast to the Rays, who walked into these first three games with a bunch of sub-.200 hitters on the team, but have not yet opened up (short of Brandon Lowe's two-HR performance in Game 2). Lowe is still batting .154; Ji-Man Choi .143; and only one starter (Manuel Margot) is north of .300 this World Series.

But all of this is small sample size, and a 2-1 lead's advantage can disappear quickly with a loss today. Julio Urias is 4-0 this postseason (in four appearances, only one of which was a start), and is coming off an impressive and efficient three-inning performance to close NLCS Game 7. But this game could be the biggest start in his postseason career (Urias has started two postseason games to date, losing vs. the Cubs in the 2016 NLCS Game 4, and winning vs. Atlanta in this year's NCLS Game 3).

Ryan Yarbrough had 2/3 of an inning in Game 1, rescuing starter Tyler Glasnow in the fifth but yielding two RBI-hits across four batters (Bellinger pop out; Taylor RBI single; Hernandez RBI single; Barnes fly out). He probably won't last long in Tampa Bay's bullpen game tonight. But if the Rays can scratch and claw their way to victory and even the series, I sure as heck will be worried again.

Actually, I'm pretty worried now.

Walker Buehler, Postseason Stud

As if I could get any more hyped for last night's World Series Game 3 start by Walker Buehler, the LAT's Jack Harris had an excellent piece yesterday which focused on how failure (both in college at Vanderbilt, and professionally with the Dodgers), and how it made him a calmer and more zen pitcher:

Yet, as this postseason has progressed, with Buehler improving every start, the 26-year-old has referred back to those painful memories: the grand slam he gave up in Game 3 of the 2018 NLDS in Atlanta; his stumbles during three straight NCAA tournament runs at Vanderbilt; the highs and lows of skins games that felt far more important than routine practice drills.

Each low point was a prerequisite to his career’s current heights, dark days that better equipped him for a bright future.

“I failed in those moments,” Buehler said. “I can handle that failure. I’ve been through it and I’ve been good after it. That failure doesn’t really scare me anymore. Obviously, you don’t want to fail. But there’s a different feeling when you’re not scared of that failure.”

Buehler wasn't scared of failure last night, nor was he scared of starting in a pivotal game which the Dodgers needed to win both to restore momentum and get their confidence back after a close 6-4 loss on Wednesday. With Charlie Morton and his impressive, cheating-enhanced postseason resume on the opponent's hill. Buehler not only out-dueled and out-lasted the salty Morton. Buehler also notched 10Ks in only six innings, he became the first World Series pitcher to have 10 strikeouts in six innings or fewer.

Eight of those ten strikeouts were swinging, so though Austin Barnes' framing skills might have helped a little, most of it was just flummoxing Tampa Bay, plain and simple, swing and miss. And watching Buehler carve up the Rays in the opening frames (with two Ks per inning through the first three innings), it certinly did a lot to calm the nerves of the Dodgers (who by then had taken a 4-0 lead off a Justin Turner home run, a two-RBI Max Muncy single, and a Barnes suicide squeeze). Not to mention my nerves, but that's another story.

Look at some of the nastiness unveiled in Buehler's arsenal yesterday:

And through this, it's helpful to remember back to the early 2010s, when Clayton Kershaw was paired with Tiny Head Zack Greinke, and everyone thought that one-two punch would take us to World Series championships. It never even got us to the World Series. And here we are, with Walker Buehler's emergence, and Kershaw finally has another stallion in the stable who can effectively help shoulder the postseason load.

Dodgers take a 2-1 lead on the back of their other postseason stud, Walker Buehler.

World Series Game 3 Thread: Oct 23 @ Rays, 5p

Aha, there's the corrrect logo.

Buehler vs. Morton.

When it comes to the Dodgers, my emotions run higher and lower than a normal mortal's calibration. I was simply euphoric after Game 1's victory. But after Game 2's loss, I was despondent--a sulking which has lasted for 36 hours given the off-day for "travel" to the opposite clubhouse in Globe Life Field.

I know this isn't rational or logical. But I can't help it. And everything I have read just spikes the emotions further, in the direction of how I'm feeling.

The LAT's Bill Plaschke says Dodgers fans should be worried.. (I'm worried.) The LAT's resident grump, Dylan Hernandez, assures that we've got this. (I'm still worried.)

And so it comes down to this pivotal Game 3, a must-win start for Walker Buehler, beset with blisters and 2-1 lifetime in the postseason (including no decisions in two four-inning 2020 postseason starts), against Charlie Morton, who is on the verge of an eighth-consecutive winning postseason decision..

The Dodgers wasted opportunities all over the place in Game 2, in which we were 0-for-6 with RISP and let Blake Snell carve us up like a deli counter employee over the first four innings. Snell was at a pace of two Ks per inning before Chris Taylor broke through with a two-run HR in the bottom of the fifth.

The Dodgers worked 7 walks in Game 1's win. We had only 4 walks in Game 2's loss. And as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick pointed out about the Dodgers' walk rate (we trail only the 1997 Marlins for the postseason record), when we're not patient, we're not as successful.

And from a pitching perspective, I think we've established from NLCS Game 7 and World Series Game 2 that Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are not up to it this postseason. One can blame Dave Roberts for throwing these young arms in such critical situations. But the results speak for themselves: neither one is up to the pressure of this national stage, not yet. Which shatters the illusion of "bullpen games" with the reality of an early white flag, demonstrated no more clearly than Alex Wood taking over in the seventh with the Dodgers down 6-3.

So I'm worried. Like Wildstorm's Midnighter, I have taken the extra day off to play out thousands of scenarios in my mind, and there are too many potential game outcomes in which the Dodgers come up short.

I know, the Dodgers have been in much worse situations this postseason, like when we were down 0-2 in the NLCS and yet at which point I was more positive. Now, the series is tied, and I'm a mess.

I know this is profoundly negative. Like I said, I'm on the swing of a pendulum that is much wider than a normal person's. My stomach lining is probably in shreds.

Who knows what Dodgers team will emerge from the visitors' dugout this game. All I know is, I'm freaking out with worry. We need a win tonight.

LET'S GO, DODGERS!

The Mookie Factor

photos by Robert Gauthier/LA Times

2020 NLCS Game 7 Thread: Oct 18 vs Barves, 5p

Will this become the Dodgers' iconic image of 2020?

Mystery Man #1 Dustin May vs Mystery Man #2 Ian Anderson

Game 7!

I am by nature a cynic, so I admit when the Boys in Blue went down 3-1 in this series I thought they were toast. But Mookie & Co. have so far proven this asshole wrong and soon we'll find out if the 2020 Dodgers can be called comeback kids.

The winner of tonight's tilt will advance to the World Series against the team with the AL's best regular-season record, the Tampa Bay Rays, who first went to the World Series in 2008. The Dodgers have the NL's best regular-season record, so how about some symmetry, boys?

As a bonus, Joe Davis will be calling tonight's action on Fox.

GO BLUE!

2020 NLCS Game 6 Thread: Oct 17 vs Barves, 130p

Buehler vs Fried

They say don't judge a man's tight pants until you've Walkered a mile in Buehler's tight pants. Or something like that. The Dodgers' season is in Walker Buehler's hands — specifically, hands that are calloused with two critical blisters that tend to affect his delivery. The Barvos counter with Max Fried, who blew the Dodgers away in Game 1. Must-win? You bet your tightpants. GO BLUE!

2020 NLCS Game 5 Thread: Oct 16 vs? @? Braves, 6p

May vs. TBD.

Well, Clayton's return to Texas hasn't gone so swimmingly. But last night's loss wasn't his fault, not when Kiké Hernandez is airmailing throws into the crowd, or Brusdar Graterol picks a fine time to stop sniffing glue, or the Dodgers offense decides that 15 runs the day before gives them the right to an off-day. So now we go with Dustin May, likely against Max Fried, the first of three must-win games for the Dodgers. God help us.

2020 NLCS Game 4 Thread: Oct 15 @ Braves, 5p

Flashing the guns. We're ready.

Kershaw vs. Wilson.

Wow, what an opening to NLCS Game 3.. And though it might be slightly unfair to expect another first-inning outburst tonight, it would live up to the pattern if the Dodgers exploded yet again for Game 4. SoSG Gnomes corrected me that yesterday's road game was not the first of this 2020 postseason; our other road game was NLDS Game 3, in which we won 12-3 over San Diego.

These two 2020 road games account for two of the Dodgers' top five most prolific playoff performances all time. And tonight's another road game. So let's do it again!

Which would be great of course, especially given Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for us today after being scratched in Game 2 with back spasms. Hoping Clayton's back is settled and he is able to rise to what pundits are already dubbing "the most important of his career", which they seem to say for every single one of Kershaw's playoff starts, anyway. That's why he's an ace. It comes with the territory.

We're winning tonight. Remember the happy times.

2020 NLCS Game 3 Thread: Oct 14 @ Braves, 3p

Urias vs. Wright.

So the Dodgers are now down 2-0 in the NLCS, our offense and dugout were "flatter than a third grader" (as one of the Sons, who will go unnamed, put it in our WhatsApp chat), and our pitching is in complete disarray. I confess that I was drinking Pessimist last night after the game (see photo, above; it's a pretty solid wine).

But I still believe that it's the Dodgers' time to shine. And last night's late rally, which fell one run short of a comeback, was a very good sign that the moribund bats of Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and Cody Bellinger just might be waking up for the first time this series. Not to mention that of the 85 teams that have trailed 2-0 in a best-of-seven series, only 13 have prevailed (15%) BUT six of those 13 (almost half!) involved the Dodgers (to be fair, only three of them positively).

And here's the kicker: Game 3 is a road game for the Dodgers, who played better on the road in 2020 (22-8 vs. 21-9). We haven't played a road game yet in the 2020 postseason 2020 NLCS, so the change of scenery (and uniforms) will be refreshing. So don't go digging up rebuttal points like "we're in the same damn field, though," or "that's only a 3% difference in performance", dammit. We're winning tonight. Remember the happy times.

2020 NLCS Game 2 Thread: Oct 13 vs. Barves, 3p

Gonsolin vs Anderson

Welp. WELP. Things were going swimmingly until they weren't. The Barves punched the Dodgers in the mouth yesterday in Game 1 and now we get the news that Clayton Kershaw has back spasms and won't start Game 2. Tony Gonsolin will take his place.

One thing that impressed me about the Lakers' title run this year was that they never lost two in a row in the playoffs. When they lost, they made adjustments in the next game. Let's face it: Until last night the Dodgers hadn't been challenged in the playoffs beyond Game 2 of the Padres series. Can we make adjustments after being punched in the mouth?

Time to find out what we're made of!

The Dodgers certainly can overcome scratching Clayton Kershaw from his Game 2 start with back issues, but the scramble it causes is very real. They were depending on him and Walker Buehler for innings. That they’re getting only five combined from them in G1 and 2 is problematic.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 13, 2020

2020 NLCS Game 1 Thread: Oct 12 vs. Braves, 5p

Buehler vs. Fried

The Lakers have won their title. Which means now the entire focus of Los Angeles is squarely on the Dodgers, back in the NLCS for the fourth time in five years.. And though we are 5-0 in the postseason so far, it's not without uncertainty, namely the snowballed disappointment of Kenley Jansen, currently unfit to be our closer; not to mention how the Dodgers (or any team, for that matter) can muscle its way through a postseason series with no off-days.

The Dodgers are the "home team" to start, which is weird at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, but at least we've gotten three games under our belt in this cavernous stadium where home runs come to die. The Braves feasted on Fish in homer-happy Minute Maid Park. And their pitching has been spot-on as well: shutouts in four of their five postseason games.

So you guessed it: I'm nervous again. Let's go, Dodgers!

2020 NLDS Game 3 Thread: Oct 8 @ Padres, 6p

May vs. Morejon

Last night was a heart attack: Cody Bellinger's game-saving catch over the wall, Joe Kelly's tightrope to save Kenley Jansen's ass in the ninth. And after a heart attack, things in life always seem a lot clearer. Like the fact that Kenley Jansen is not fit to be our closer any longer. Or that Doc Roberts isn't going to depend upon tenure and history to make decisions. Or that Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger are starting to heat up again...which is exactly what we need.

Look, all season long, the Dodgers' bats have picked up this team in the few times when the bullpen has faltered. Last night's cardiac ninth inning was nuts but the Dodgers were were still due 9-1-2 in the bottom of the ninth, and I for one had a feeling that Mookie would have come up big again. But I'll take the win nonetheless.

Tonight we are the "visiting" team so we need to get out there and score runs early and often. Let's do this.

2020 NLDS Game 2 Thread: Oct 7 vs. Padres, 6p

Mookie Betts, about to open up the can of Dodgers whup-ass.

Kershaw vs. TBD

The Padres opened up Game 1 last night well, despite the early exit of Mike Clevinger, holding the Dodgers hitless through the first five frames. But with one out in the sixth during a 1-1 tie, Mookie Betts hit a double, and then the floodgates were open. By the end of the frame, the Dodgers were up 5-1 and didn't look back, thanks to a rock-solid bullpen performance across Dustin May, Victor González, Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jansen.

Also, nice to see Max Muncy get a double and Cody Bellinger get a RBI single in Game 1.

So now we turn right around and play another "home" game in Globle Life Field. Tonight, my wish is to start our hitting before the sixth inning.

2020 NLDS Game 1 Thread: Oct 6 vs. Padres, 6.30p

Buehler vs. Clevinger

Though MLB's four Division Series all feature divisional rivalries (all the Central teams were knocked out in the Wild Card round), the Los Angeles-San Diego one seems the spiciest. In yesterday's LAT, Dylan Hernandez characterized this rivalry as revered class vs. brash upstart.. All I see is a smokin' hot offensive team (Manny Machado, Feernando Tatis Jr., and Wil Myers, to start) vs. an offense that, besides Mookie Betts and Corey Seager, has been inconsistent or injured or flailing for most of this shortened season.

While one could see the Milwaukee Brewers lose life and energy with every inning, the Padres won't have any of that in this series. And we already know that the baseball gods continue to be cruel. So yeah, I'm worried about this one. Game 1 is critical.

Doc Joins Outraged Dodgers Fans About ESPN's In-Game Interview Scheme

Dodgers fans watching Wild Card Game 1 were incensed to hear Karl Ravech and crew pepper Dodgers 3B Justin Turner with questions WHILE HE WAS ON THE FIELD DURING PLAY. Notwithstanding Turner was beset with a faulty earpiece anyway, it seemed like a very intrusive idea, especially for a broadcaster who won't even consider putting its own play-by-play team in the Stadium, yet has no qualms about poisoning the athletes themselves.

Well, Doc Roberts is pissed off at ESPN, as well:

Interviews with managers or inactive players during a game are a fixture of national broadcasts these days, but in-game interviews with players on the field are becoming increasingly common. They are often seen in spring training and the All-Star Game, and even in the regular season lately. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo received praise for one such appearance in spring training this year.

However, interviewing a player as he attempts to play in a postseason game, which is infinitely more consequential than a spring training or All-Star Game, rubbed at least one person the wrong way: Turner’s manager.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday that he only learned of ESPN’s plan an hour before the game and said there would be no repeat performance on his team.

I like ESPN but this experiment was a stupid idea. Glad that Roberts is telling them where they can stick their (faulty) mikes.

2020 Wild Card Game 2 Thread: Oct 1 vs. Brewers

Kershaw vs. Woodruff, 7p

The Dodgers eked out a 4-2 victory in Game 1 thanks in large part to Corey Seager's seventh-inning 447-foot HR to give the Dodgers that deciding two-run cushion. That said, the game ended with Kenley Jansen allowing the tying run to the plate and the Dodgers squandering run-scoring opportunities in the early innings, not to mention an embarrassing Max Muncy error in short right field which didn't lead to a run, but was sloppy as hell anyway.

Justin Turner, distracted by a dodgy in-game microphone not to mention inane questions from ESPN's Karl Ravech, went 0-for-4 on Wednesday; both Will Smith and Edwin Rios went 0-for-3. Is it right that we expect someone else in the lineup besides Mookie Betts to have a multi-hit game (Betts was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored)? Let's go, Dodgers! Expectations are high.

2020 Wild Card Game 1 Thread: Oct 1 vs. Brewers

Buehler vs. Suter, 7p

I realize that MLB did its best to put forward a season after COVID-19 made most of life (not just baseball) a logistic nightmare. But of all the changes to this year's season: the universal DH, seven-inning double-headers, the three-batter minimum for relief pitchers, runners starting on second in extra innings--the one change that I hated the most was a first-round best-of-three series. In baseball, where anything can happen, a best-of-three series is incredibly capriciou, and the best team can easily come out on the wrong end. And without fans in the crowd, there is no homefield advantage enjoyed by the Dodgers, after their hard work resulted in the best record in baseball.

Only one of the four AL home teams won their first game yesterday. My stomach is going to be knotted. Let's hope the Dodgers can be a lot looser and play like the powerhouse team that they are.

PLAYOFFS BABY