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LOS ANGELES — The 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers were left wondering why they can’t win in October after they were swept out of the NL Division Series. They’ll spend all winter searching for answers while reliving their quick exit for the second straight season.

Manager Dave Roberts was booed at home when he removed Brusdar Graterol after two hitless innings of relief in Game 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His postseason moves have been skewered by Dodgers fans over his eight seasons at the helm.

“I’ve got to do a better job of figuring out a way to get our guys prepared for the postseason. I’ll own that,” Roberts said. “The regular season, I think we do a great job. But the last couple of postseasons it just hasn’t gone well for us and so I’ve got to figure it out.”

The Dodgers didn’t have much of a rotation for the postseason. It was Clayton Kershaw, deadline acquisition Lance Lynn and several rookies.

Kershaw got blown up in Game 1 against the D-backs. Rookie Bobby Miller collapsed in Game 2, and the D-backs rocked Lynn for four home runs in one inning to close out the sweep in Game 3. That trio gave up 13 runs in just 4⅔ innings in the series.

The Dodgers’ vaunted offense, featuring a quartet of 100-RBI players, vanished in the postseason. The 1-2 punch of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were a combined 1-for-21 in the NLDS, including 0-for-8 in the decisive Game 3.

Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez, the other half of the 100-RBI club, did little either.

The Dodgers’ rotation was left in tatters after season-ending arm injuries to Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Kershaw spent six weeks on the injured list with a shoulder injury. Starter Julio Urías was arrested in September on suspicion of felony domestic violence and placed on administrative leave by MLB. The bullpen was missing key contributors Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen due to injury.

Infielder Gavin Lux was lost for the season because of a knee injury suffered in spring training. Designated hitter Martinez was out for an extended period in August and early September with a groin injury.

Kershaw’s future is uncertain. The three-time Cy Young Award winner turns 36 in March and becomes a free agent after the World Series ends. He has pitched on one-year contracts each of the past two seasons to give himself flexibility to continue or retire.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to look,” Kershaw said about his plans.

Neither he nor the team ever said much about his shoulder. He didn’t pitch more than 5⅓ innings after coming off the IL in mid-August. Then he got lit up by the D-backs, tagged for six runs before getting an out in the first inning of the worst start of his 16-year career.

“Just obviously a horrible way to end it personally,” Kershaw said. “But that’s not ultimately not important. It’s just how I didn’t help the team win the series. That’s the most disappointing part.”

Roberts often likes to remind how every season is different, even though this one ended in a similar fashion to 2022.

“We’ve got to find a way to get back up and not feel sorry for ourselves and get better,” he said. “That’s just the only option.”

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

CINCINNATI — Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 Friday night for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.

The Brewers became the first team in 94 years to extend a double-digit win streak with a comeback win of seven or more runs, according to ESPN Research.

The Reds chased Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski – making his first start since July 28 – with a seven-run seventh inning to take an 8-1 lead.

Yelich homered leading off the second against Nick Martinez for Milwaukee’s first run. He had an RBI double in the third before Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th homer – a three-run shot – and Brice Turang‘s RBI double to cut it to 8-6. Yelich had a two-run single in the fourth to tie it at 8-all and then hit his 26th homer – a one-out, solo shot off Scott Barlow (6-1) in the sixth to give the Brewers the lead.

Yelich did his damage with a bat honoring the late Bob Uecker. It had the home run call of the former catcher and longtime Brewers’ announcer written on it.

This was also Yelich’s third career game with four hits and two home runs, tying Ryan Braun and Willy Adames for most in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Brandon Lockridge went 3 for 5 and doubled off Sam Moll with two outs in the seventh before scoring on a wild pitch for an insurance run.

Misiorowski loaded the bases with one out in the second on a hit batter and two walks and left after walking Spencer Steer to force in a run. Elly De La Cruz had the first hit in the inning – a two-run double off DL Hall for a 4-1 lead. Four straight singles increased the lead to 8-1.

Misiorowski was charged with five runs on four hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings hours after coming off the injured list. Nick Mears (4-3) pitched a scoreless fifth. Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save. Six relievers combined to retire the final 23 Reds in order.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

LOS ANGELES — Third baseman Max Muncy was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and landed on the injured list Friday, a major blow to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that finds itself fading in the standings.

Muncy was originally a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup after feeling soreness in his right side during pregame batting practice. The Dodgers’ hope was that sitting out for the finale from Angel Stadium, then getting extra rest during the Thursday off day, would allow Muncy to return for a critical series against the division-rival San Diego Padres, who have taken a one-game lead in the National League West.

But Muncy will miss this weekend’s series from Dodger Stadium, as well as the following series from San Diego’s Petco Park next weekend.

“I don’t think anyone expects it to be season-ending,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but hopefully it’s sooner than later.”

Roberts doesn’t believe the current oblique injury is as bad as the one that forced Muncy to miss about two months last year, but even in a best-case scenario, the Dodgers might be without their third baseman and left-handed power hitter until around mid-September.

Muncy got off to a bad start this year before turning it on in the middle of May, slashing .312/.438/.616 with 11 home runs in a stretch of 41 games. Muncy then injured his left knee during a scary collision at third base and wound up missing most of July. He returned Aug. 4, went 8-for-23 with four home runs over the course of eight games, and now he’s out again — at a time when the reigning World Series champs could really use some reinforcements.

The Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the NL West as of July 3 and have since gone 12-21 to fall a game back of a surging Padres team that arrived in L.A. on the heels of a five-game winning streak. As many as six high-leverage relievers reside on the Dodgers’ IL, though three of them — Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott — are nearing returns. The offense, meanwhile, has been mostly unproductive over the past six weeks, posting an 0.708 OPS that ranks 22nd in the major leagues.

During Muncy’s absence, the Dodgers will use Alex Freeland, a switch-hitting rookie who’s batting .176 in his first 12 games, and Buddy Kennedy, a right-handed-hitting journeyman with a career .193 batting average. Other potential reinforcements like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim and Enrique Hernandez remain on the IL and aren’t close enough to a return.

“It’s certainly a tough loss,” Roberts said. “I think it’s just guys got to continue to perform to their abilities. It’s hard to kind of backfill Max, what he means, as far as the plate discipline, the slug, the on-base, all that stuff. I feel good about our lineup, the guys that we have, and they just have to go out there and take good at-bats. That’s all we can do right now.”

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Phils’ Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

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Phils' Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was carted off the field after he took a comebacker off his right foot in the ninth inning of a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Phillies said that initial X-rays were negative and that Duran would be evaluated further Saturday.

Pitching in a non-save situation after four days off, Duran began the ninth by facing Paul DeJong, who hit a sharp grounder to the mound on his fourth pitch. The ball deflected off Duran’s foot and into foul territory for a single.

Duran ran toward the ball but began limping as he approached the foul line. After a lengthy visit by team trainers, he took a seat in the Nationals’ bullpen cart and was driven off the field.

“He ran like a shot to retrieve the ball, and once he got there, I think the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in,” Thomson said. “But before the cart came out, he said, ‘I actually feel better, I think I can walk over to the dugout.’ But we got all these steps up here, so we just wanted to use the cart and take him all the way around, so he didn’t have to go up the steps.”

Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Duran is 4-for-4 in save opportunities with the Phillies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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