Another L.A. October disappointment? 5 moments that led to Dodgers’ early exit
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Alden Gonzalez
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Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
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David Schoenfield
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David Schoenfield
ESPN Senior Writer
- Covers MLB for ESPN.com
- Former deputy editor of Page 2
- Been with ESPN.com since 1995
In the aftermath of another early-round disappointment, this time at the hands of the young, scrappy Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy delivered a harsh but accurate summation of the circumstances.
“They were the team that was getting the hits, they were the team that was making the pitches, they were making all the plays,” Muncy said after the Diamondbacks’ three-game sweep of the Dodgers. “Just all across the board, they dominated us.”
Through 27 innings of a surprisingly anticlimactic National League Division Series, the Dodgers never had a lead. A D-backs team that finished 16 games worse than them during the regular season jumped all over their starting pitchers, stymied their best hitters and never made the Dodgers feel as if they even had a chance. Before they knew it, it was over.
“Our team was hungry,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I know it’s well-documented that we’re a connected team, and I think a connected team is a dangerous team.”
The Dodgers have won 100 games four out of the past five years (it’s five straight if you stretch their title-winning, COVID-19-shortened season out to 162 games). But they have also been eliminated from the playoffs by a team that was more than a dozen games worse than them during the regular season in four out of the past five years. It was the 2019 Washington Nationals, then the 2021 Atlanta Braves, then the 2022 San Diego Padres and now the 2023 D-backs. Three of those upsets occurred in the NLDS.
The story of this year’s collapse was pretty straightforward: The Dodgers, with a severely short-handed rotation, continually fell behind early, and their offense hardly ever came close to making up for it.
Below are the five moments that defined their latest abrupt exit.
Game 1, first inning
What happened: Gabriel Moreno‘s three-run home run gives the Diamondbacks a 5-0 lead against Clayton Kershaw just five batters into the game
Dodgers’ win probability lost: Minus-9%
The Dodgers knew going into the postseason that Kershaw would be limited, but they needed something out of him. They hoped it would be something closer to the solid five or so innings he consistently provided over the past two months of the regular season, even as he pitched through diminished stuff and a sore shoulder.
Instead, the Diamondbacks torched Kershaw in a nightmare first inning for the future Hall of Famer; he exited after one-third of an inning with a 162.0 ERA, arguably the worst postseason start of all time. Arizona’s first five hits were all rockets: 115.7 mph, 109.6 mph, 99.4 mph, 105.7 mph and 110.8 mph (that last one was Moreno’s home run). After Evan Longoria knocked out Kershaw from the game with an RBI double hit at 98.8 mph, the damage was extensive: Six runs, six hits, six hard-hit balls.
Kershaw’s start exemplified how dire the Dodgers’ pitching situation was heading into October — and how, at its current state, this was not the same team that won 100 games for a third straight time.
“Embarrassing,” Kershaw later said. “You just feel like you let everybody down.”
Game 2, first inning
What happened: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. rips a 104 mph RBI single to center field to cap a three-run inning off Dodgers starter Bobby Miller
Dodgers’ win probability lost: Minus-7%
The rookie Miller had a bit of a deer-in-headlights look as he made his postseason debut, and sure enough the Diamondbacks quickly got to him with some small ball. Corbin Carroll led with a walk on a 3-2, 100 mph fastball that was inside. Ketel Marte reached on a bunt single. Tommy Pham loaded the bases with a single, Christian Walker hit a sac fly, Moreno knocked in a run with a groundout and Gurriel finished off the rally.
Even after Kershaw’s struggles, the Dodgers had no choice but to put a rookie pitcher in this spot, another indication of the wreckage of their pitching. They had lost Walker Buehler (who couldn’t make it back in time from a second Tommy John surgery), Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin (who both required season-ending surgeries), and Julio Urias (who was placed on administrative leave after allegations of domestic violence). The Dodgers’ hopes of continually advancing in October rested largely on their promising young starting pitchers thriving in high-pressure environments, and nobody represented that more than Miller, the most talented among them. He seemed to be the only one who had a chance of getting through an opposing lineup a third time — and he didn’t even do it twice.
“I got a little jumpy out there,” Miller said. “It caused the command to be a little worse.”
Game 2, sixth inning
What happened: Kolten Wong grounds out with the bases loaded against D-backs reliever Ryan Thompson
Dodgers’ win probability lost: Minus-12%
The Dodgers had cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-2 and had the bases loaded with one out. Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Saalfrank, with all of 11 career major league innings, struck out James Outman on a 3-2 sinker. That brought up No. 9 hitter Miguel Rojas and the Diamondbacks brought in Thompson — whom the Rays had released in August — for the righty-righty matchup. Dave Roberts sent up the lefty-hitting Wong, his third pinch hitter of the inning. Wong had been released by the Mariners in August after hitting .165 for them, although he did hit .300 with the Dodgers in 30 at-bats. Wong looked at two sinkers for strikes and then grounded a third one to first base to end the threat.
The Dodgers never quite figured out their middle infield this season. Gavin Lux, expected to be the everyday shortstop, tore his ACL during spring training and Miguel Vargas, given the second-base job, was unproductive through his first extended run in the major leagues. As the year played out, the Dodgers’ most optimal lineup against righties — so, most of the time — had Betts playing second base or shortstop so that the left-handed-hitting David Peralta, Outman and Jason Heyward could all play the outfield. And so when the postseason came, the Dodgers carried Wong to give them a left-handed bat off the bench. It meant Wong, a .183/.256/.263 hitter during the regular season, took a really meaningful at-bat in Game 2. It’s not what the Dodgers would have hoped for, to say the least.
Game 3, third inning
What happened: Dodgers starter Lance Lynn gives up four solo home runs in a six-batter stretch
Dodgers’ win probability lost: Minus-32% (combined)
The Dodgers had so many injury issues with their rotation at the trade deadline that they acquired Lynn, a veteran right-hander with a 6.47 ERA, from the White Sox. He went 7-2 with the Dodgers but allowed 16 home runs in 64 innings — finishing the season with an MLB-worst 44. Down 0-2 and facing elimination, the Dodgers decided to hold back Ryan Pepiot, initially planned to pitch in tandem with Lynn, to potentially help out Kershaw in Game 4.
It underscored an important point: Yes, the Dodgers were going to be unconventional with their usage. But at some point they needed length from a starting pitcher. Lynn did not come close to providing it. (Neither did anyone else: The 4⅔ innings from their starters in the first three games was the fewest in postseason history. Kershaw, Miller and Lynn were charged with a whopping 13 earned runs in that stretch.) In a record-breaking third inning, the Diamondbacks became the first team to hit four home runs in one inning in a postseason game, all off Lynn. In a span of 17 pitches, Geraldo Perdomo, Marte, Walker and Moreno all homered — Moreno one pitch after missing by just a few inches on a foul ball.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts vowed to treat Game 3 like a typical Game 7, but he was ultimately a batter or two late in removing Lynn.
“I had some guys ready,” Roberts said. “Obviously, I can’t predict the future. I try not to be reactionary and get ahead of things. I just can’t predict the future. The way he was throwing the baseball, I didn’t expect that.”
Game 3, eighth inning
What happened: Kevin Ginkel strikes out Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman
Dodgers’ win probability lost: Minus-11% (combined)
Trailing 4-2, the Dodgers had one last chance. Ginkel walked Wong to start the inning, and the Dodgers had the top of the order coming up — a chance to put up a crooked number to tie the score. But Ginkel fanned Betts on a 2-2 slider, keeping Betts hitless for the series; he fanned Freeman on a 1-2 fastball up and away. J.D. Martinez flew out to center field for the third out, and the rally never came to fruition.
“Not what we need to do,” Freeman said earlier in the series.
Betts and Freeman, who went a combined 1 for 21 in the NLDS, were the engines that drove the Dodgers’ high-powered offense throughout the summer, putting up MVP-caliber seasons and setting the tone — with their power, their pitch selection and, sneakily, their baserunning — at the top of the lineup. The Dodgers’ offense had depth, but it revolved around Betts and Freeman being highly productive. In some ways, they were not built to survive without it. But Betts slumped through September and Freeman’s swing didn’t feel right in the days leading up to the postseason. The Dodgers couldn’t overcome it.
Betts’ loss particularly. When the month of August ended, Betts seemed like the MVP front-runner. But he slumped — by his standards — through September, OPS’ing only .718. And he did next to nothing in October. Betts is 2-for-25 in the past two postseason runs — both of which have ended in early eliminations. Betts, more than anybody else, makes the Dodgers’ offense go.
“I feel like I prepared the right way,” Betts said. “I just didn’t execute anything.”
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Jesse Rogers
MILWAUKEE — Perhaps some divine intervention had a hand in the Brewers advancing to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2018 after they defeated the Cubs in Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night. More than once, general manager Matt Arnold said he looked “to the heavens” for some inspiration from Brewers icon Bob Uecker, who passed away last offseason.
“I kept saying, ‘Bob, we need you,'” Arnold said in the Brewers’ champagne-soaked clubhouse following the tense 3-1 win. “We know he’s with us.”
Arnold’s prayers were answered as Milwaukee hit three solo home runs while perfectly navigating its own bullpen game — just as the Cubs were attempting to do — holding Chicago to a solo home run. Midseason pickup Andrew Vaughn went deep again, while midseason call-up Jacob Misiorowski pitched the bulk of the game, going four innings and allowing just that one run.
Vaughn, in particular, felt the meaning of the moment more than most. Traded by the Chicago White Sox after a terrible start to his season, he found new life with the Brewers. He compiled a 1.126 OPS in the series, including two home runs.
“The journey has been kind of crazy,” Vaughn said. “But not taking anything for granted. The opportunity to be with this group, it’s changed my life.”
For Misiorowski, it was the first time in 17 appearances, dating back to the regular season, that he didn’t issue a walk. He gave up three hits and struck out three in a masterful performance.
“I think I was giving everything I’ve got,” he said. “And I think I left everything out there.”
The other four Brewers pitchers held the Cubs scoreless.
“It kind of went according to plan,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “But then, we saw [Aaron Ashby] was a little bit not as sharp as he could have been. It’s his fourth time seeing them. And then, Chad Patrick was maybe the player of the game because you don’t expect him to be that good, pitching an inning plus.”
Patrick relieved Ashby during a potential turning point in the sixth. With Milwaukee up 2-1, Ashby gave up a hit and then hit a batter, putting runners on first and second with no outs. But then he threw the pitch of the game, a nasty 98.6 mph fastball on the edge of the zone to Kyle Tucker, who swung and missed on a 3-2 count. Patrick entered next. He got Seiya Suzuki to fly out and caught Ian Happ looking. It was the last rally of the season for the Cubs.
“Ashby made a pretty darned good pitch, 3-2, to Tucker,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Looked like right down away on the corner. It was a nasty pitch. Seiya had a good at-bat against Patrick. … And then, they got out of it essentially.
“It’s really the only inning you could talk about. We just didn’t do much. We had six baserunners. You’re going to have to hit homers to have any runs scoring in scenarios like that.”
The win completed a back-and-forth series where the home team held serve throughout. The Brewers admitted the environment in Games 3 and 4 in Chicago got to them, allowing the Cubs to even the series after Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead. Would the Brewers give it away like they did in the wild-card round last year when New York Mets star Pete Alonso beat them with a late home run in the deciding game?
Longtime Brewers star Christian Yelich was asked what he learned from that heartbreaking experience.
“Just go at it fearless,” Yelich said during the postgame clubhouse party. “You can’t really lose them tougher than we did last year. So going into the night, you just play with a bunch of freedom. You know you’ve got belief and trust in your teammates that we’re going to be able to get the job done. That’s exactly what we’re able to do.”
The Brewers said all the right things about beating the Cubs, though it had to feel extra special taking down a big-market payroll and Milwaukee’s former manager, who left for greener pastures two years ago. As has become the norm since he took the job in Chicago, Counsell was booed every time he poked his head out of the dugout.
Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio was asked if he had any doubts about his team continuing its winning ways after Counsell left the organization before the 2024 season.
“I believed in the process and the system and the people,” Attanasio said. “The Cubs were really good this year. It’s just a testament to this whole organization.”
In terms of big-market, high-payroll teams, the Cubs were just the appetizer. Next up for the Brewers are the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who reside in the sport’s second-largest market and own the highest team payroll in the majors, more than $200 million ahead of the Brewers.
“It doesn’t get any more big market and small market than Brewers-Dodgers,” Yelich said with a smile. “We’re up against it. We know it. We love being in those situations. It’s fitting the season for us is going to come down to that series, that team and all that star power. You have the average Joes coming there. We’re going to do what we did all year, compete our asses off, go hard and see what happens.”
Attanasio added: “Let’s go! I can’t wait.”
The Brewers went 6-0 against the Dodgers in the regular season and have home-field advantage in the series, but they will be the decided underdogs. Uecker’s spirit might be needed now more than ever, as taking down the Dodgers despite everything that the Brewers have accomplished will be their toughest task yet.
“I’m grateful for the guys we’ve had in the room,” Murphy said. “They’ve been doubted every year. Everyone. There’s no one predicting the Brewers playing the Dodgers in the series.”
Arnold added: “We’ve been planning for this. You can’t just roll out of bed and play the Dodgers.”
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Jorge Castillo
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is not on the roster for the AL Championship Series vs. the Seattle Mariners.
Bichette has not played since spraining his left knee in a collision on Sept. 6. He ran for the first time Wednesday, hit live pitching Friday and appeared to be in some discomfort as he ran the bases for the first time Saturday.
Game 1 against the Mariners is scheduled for Sunday night at Rogers Centre.
Toronto’s offense did not falter without the 27-year-old Bichette in the AL Division Series. The Blue Jays scored 34 runs in the four games and pounded the New York Yankees‘ pitching for 23 runs in the first two contests at home. But Bichette was one of the team’s three best hitters during the regular season.
A free agent this winter, Bichette rebounded from a dreadful, injury-plagued 2024 season in which he posted a .598 OPS in 81 games to his previous All-Star-level form in his platform year. He batted .311 — tied for second in the AL — with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games, though he was the worst defensive shortstop in the majors as measured by outs above average and defensive runs saved.
Andres Gimenez, previously the team’s starting second baseman, started at shortstop for the Blue Jays in their division series win over Yankees. Utilityman Ernie Clement also played shortstop for Toronto during the regular season after Bichette’s injury.
After carrying just three starters in the AL Division Series and deploying a bullpen game in Game 4, the Blue Jays are carrying both Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt — who finished the season on the injured list with back inflammation — on the ALCS roster as possible options for length. Both starters threw in a simulated game early in the week at Rogers Centre.
ESPN’s Jorge Castillo contributed to this report.
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