LDN - Sports

After late-season swoon, Dodgers enter playoffs on roll

[October 03, 2017] By Jack Magruder, The Sports Xchange

PHOENIX -- Winning the National League West is nothing new for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who earned their fifth consecutive division title this year. However, the road in 2017 had a unique Hollywood feel.

A Hollywood rush-hour-traffic feel.

From fast and furious to bumper to bumper.

From a dead sprint to a dead stop.

The Dodgers went from bullies to pushovers and back again this year, a season that delivered another Clayton Kershaw Cy Young-ish performance and another rookie hitting sensation. A year after Corey Seager won NL Rookie of the Year, Cody Bellinger is a shoo-in to make it two in a row for Los Angeles.

The Dodgers set a Los Angeles-era franchise record with 104 victories, and they enter the postseason with home-field advantage throughout after finishing with the best record in the majors for the first time since 1974.

If it sounds straightforward enough, it was quite the opposite.

The Dodgers trailed the Colorado Rockies by one game in NL West entering games of June 6 before taking off. They won 51 of their next 60 games, the second-best stretch in major league history after the 1912 New York Giants, who were 51-8 after a 3-3 start. The Dodgers won 19 series and split three in a 22-series span.

Justin Turner was hot and healthy. Bellinger was hitting after being promoted from the minors. Alex Wood joined Kershaw as a co-staff ace. Kenley Jansen converted every save chance.

They were on pace to win 116.4 games. The 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners share the record, 116 victories.

Just when the best-team-ever speculation began, however, things went directly south. The Dodgers lost 16 of 17, and suddenly even home-field advantage in the playoffs, which had been taken for granted, was in question. Seager was held out because of an elbow injury, and the offense struggled to score. Kershaw missed time with a sore back.

The clinching party may have come later than expected, but it was just as sweet. Los Angeles won eight of its final 10 games to enter the playoffs with renewed momentum.

"I actually learned that it's a group that sticks together," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi told the Orange County (Calif.) Register. "I've been part of teams that had skids that weren't as bad and kind of splintered worse, unfortunately, than what we saw from this group.

"Dave (Roberts, the manager,) stayed consistent. They dealt with a lot of scrutiny, a lot of negative press. Just the consistency and staying together, I think, was key."

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The Dodgers do a lot of things well, which could indicate a long postseason stay as they look to break a long postseason drought. They have lost in the NL Division Series and the NL Championship Series twice each in the past four years, and they have not won the NL title in 29 years. Los Angeles won the 1988 World Series, led by Orel Hershiser and a spot-on scouting report from Mel Didier to Kirk Gibson for the Game 1 walk-off.

As usual, the Dodgers lead with pitching. They finished first the NL with a 3.38 ERA and 16 shutouts, both second in the majors to the Cleveland Indians. They led the majors in staff WHIP and opponents' batting average and set a franchise record for season strikeouts (1,549, second to Cleveland).

Kershaw, Wood, Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda went 58-21 in 102 starts, although Yu Darvish will take over for Maeda in the postseason rotation. Jansen converted 41 of 42 save opportunities, the best percentage in baseball.

The records spilled onto the offensive side, too. Los Angles set season records with 221 homers and 553 extra-base hits.

Turner, re-signed to a four-year, $64 million free agent last winter, hit 21 homers and posted a .945 OPS. Seager contributed 22 homers and 77 RBIs. Utility man Chris Taylor had a career year with 21 homers and 72 RBIs. Yasiel Puig set career highs with 28 homers and 74 RBIs.

Then there is Bellinger, who turned 22 on July 13. He finished with 39 homers and 97 RBIs, and the Dodgers went 89-38 when he started, as he did at first base and in all three outfield spots.

"I can't go back too far, but it's as impactful a rookie performance as I've ever seen," Zaidi said. "There have been some great ones. Corey was great last year. I think 'Belly' coming up and doing what he did at just the right time -- yeah, that was pretty special."

The Dodgers' front office heavily uses data to set lineups and create defensive shifts. Roberts usually gets the matchup he likes, whether in the batter's box or on the mound, and his calm efficiency has rubbed off. It shows in the final record.

"We have a really deep team," said Enrique Hernandez, who has played 139 games and started at every spot except pitcher and catcher. "A really deep lineup. A good bench. A good starting rotation. A good bullpen. There are not too many ways you can beat us.

"On paper, we are as good at it gets. On the field, we are making plays."

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