For the third straight year, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had to answer questions after his club fell short of the World Series despite winning at least 100 games in the regular season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks completed a sweep against Los Angeles on Wednesday, beating the Dodgers 4-2 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series to advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2007.
The loss left the Dodgers facing questions, and Roberts took some of the blame for another disappointing ending.
“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 have enjoyed sustained regular-season success for more than a decade, winning 10 of the last 11 NL West titles. But only once did they walk away with a World Series title during that stretch, winning it in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Dodgers’ stars came up especially short this year in the playoffs. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were a combined 1-for-21 in the NLDS — including 0-for-8 in Game 3 — as Los Angeles scored two runs in each game of the sweep.
The starting pitching was also a glaring issue. Longtime Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw continued to have postseason problems, giving up six hits and six runs in one-third of an inning in the Diamondbacks’ 11-2 win in Game 1.
Rookie Bobby Miller wasn’t much better in Game 2, lasting only 1 2/3 innings and giving up three runs on four hits in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss. Game 3 starter Lance Lynn pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up four solo homers in the third inning as the Diamondbacks celebrated a 4-2 victory.
Roberts hopes his players remain positive despite another discouraging ending to a once-promising season.
“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.”
–Field Level Media