The Dodgers didn’t take advantage of an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the NLDS last night, and for the 2nd night in a row, didn’t score after the 3rd inning. The Dodgers are 17 for 67 so far as an offense but are just 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position. One of the things that this offense has a tendency to do is rely on the home run more than it needs to score runs, and that has been a trend so far as the Dodgers have hit 5 home runs but scored just 8 runs. And, there has not been a “Chris Taylor” sighting yet, and that is of interest because he has been a good post-season performer posting a .259 lifetime average in the playoffs with an OPS of .842. There is a lot to be concerned about, but, if the Dodgers win game 3, they will take a stranglehold on the series, and make it very difficult for the Padres to come back and win, so there should be more parts optimism at this point as well.

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Offense

If the Dodgers are to win this series, Mookie Betts needs to get going as he is just 1 for 8 and has been on base just twice and scored 0 runs. Betts is in the leadoff spot, so, although he is one of the Dodger’s best run producers, he also needs to be setting the table in front of the 5 home runs the Dodgers have hit in the last 2 games. Betts had an on-base % of .340 in the regular season and is one of the top handful of elite players in the league, so the Dodgers rely heavily on him to make a huge impact, so hopefully, he makes his usual presence felt for the rest of the 2022 post-season.

Trea Turner has 2 home runs and has been the Dodger’s one of the best offensive players so far in the first 2 games going 3 for 9 with 2 RBS and 3 runs scored with an OPS of 1.444, so hopefully, he can continue to play good offense. Turner, like Betts, is another offensive player at the top of the lineup that drives in a lot of runs and had 100 RBIs on the year, but also needs to serve a dual role as a table setter as well. His home run was the only time he got on base last night, and although his on-base % for this series is .333 which is good, the Dodgers still need him and Betts to get on base more to put more

pressure on the Padre’s pitching staff.

Freddie Freeman went 0-3 in the Dodger’s game 1 win, but then went 2 for 4 last night with a home run and has also walked twice in the series, so he has done his part. In fact, his on-base percentage is .444 to pair with a .286 average and an OPS of 1.301, so hopefully, Betts and Turner can get on base in front of him, then he can continue his great offense.

Will Smith had 2 hits in game 1, then went 1 for 5 last night and is hitting .333 for the series so far with an RBI and an OPS of .889. He has also hit 2 doubles, so he is outperforming his level of production from the regular season, so hopefully, he can continue to do that. He has shown to have the ability to come up clutch in the past, so let’s hope that Betts, Turner, and Freeman give him a bunch of chances to drive in runs from here on out.

Justin Turner is 1 for 6 so far and had a chance last night with runners at 2nd and 3rd and less than 2 outs, but didn’t put the ball in play. Turner has been an elite offensive player for much of his career with the Dodgers, including the 2nd half of this season, so, for the Dodgers to win 10 more games, he needs to get going and produce in the key moments. I hope this doesn’t sound negative or too harsh, but it is just the truth that when he has a chance to score runs for the team, it needs to happen, like it almost always has in the past. He is a lifetime .273 post-season hitter, but hit just .118 in last year’s playoffs and is hitting just .167 so far this year, so hopefully, he can find his groove again for the rest of this year.

Max Muncy has a lifetime post-season OPS of .905 and is hitting .429 so far in the 2 games against the Padres. He had a hit and drew a walk in game 1, then had a great game last night going 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Muncy, like Smith, is easily outperforming his regular season, but he has a track record of being productive in the post-season, so hopefully, he can keep that up and help the Dodgers win 10 more games in 2022.

Gavin Lux went 2 for 4 last night and is hitting .375 for the series so far and has a big RBI in game 1, but he has yet to score a run despite having 4 total bases in the series. Lux has great speed, so he needs to be a throwback “get ’em on, get ’em over, get ’em in type player at the bottom of the lineup for the Dodgers, and the “get him in” part of that equation has not happened. As a result, the scoring for the Dodgers has been heavily reliant on the home run, and all within the first 3 innings of both games. A guy like Lux can be a spark to get an offense out of a rut like that, so hopefully, he can provide that.

Trayce Thompson has yet to get going in the 2022 post-season as he is 0 for 6 with 3 strikeouts. He has drawn 2 walks so far, and he plays great defense, so he always adds a positive element even when he’s not hitting, but the Dodgers need consistency in their offense and need to be able to generate some runs with the bottom of their lineup, and they have not done that so far. So, it will be interesting to see how the left-field spot is handled from this point on because they need some offensive production from that spot to help balance out the offensive attack.

Cody Bellinger has just 1 hit, and hasn’t looked comfortable at all at the plate, but, honestly, he’s shortened his swing up and is battling, and baseball is a hard game, so I hesitate to be critical when a player is trying to do the right thing but is still struggling. But, the facts are the facts, and he has struck out 4 times and hit just .210 from the year, so, my approach towards him is that any offense he can give the Dodgers is a bonus at this point. Hopefully, he can run into a couple of balls in a big moment and make an impact in that way, but, if not, he plays a great center field and the Dodgers should have plenty of offense around him, and he IS going to be in the lineup and is battling, so his situation is what it is at this point.

Pitching

Clayton Kershaw took the mound last night with a chance to bury the Padres, and although his outing wasn’t bad, it also wasn’t dominant and it didn’t knock the breath out of the Padres like Dodgers fans were hoping would happen. I’m assuming game 2 will be his only start, but, as we’ve seen in the past, he could be available for relief duties in Game 5 if needed, so we’ll see how that plays out. Kershaw has a lifetime post-season ERA of 4.22, a WHIP of just 1.08, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 4 to 1, and became the all-time post-season strikeout leader passing Justin Verlander last night, so add that achievement to his already illustrious and Hall of Fame career. But, I’ll promise you this, he would trade all of that back in for a win last night and a World Championship in 2022.

Julio Urias was great through 4 innings in Game 1, then ran into some trouble in the 5th as Will Myers hit a home run, the Padres strung together a couple of hits, then did a good job situational hitting to score 3 runs. Urias has a post-season ERA of 3.68 for his career and a WHIP of just 0.97, so, not only was he great for the entire 2022 season, but he has also been a good post-season pitcher as well. That should comfort Dodgers fans knowing he would get the ball for game 5 if the series gets that far. The Dodgers just need to win 1 game in San Diego to make that happen.

The Bullpen was great in game 1, and, honestly, deserved the game ball by blanking the Padres for the last 5 innings after they scored 3 off of Urias in the 5th. Last night, however, wasn’t perfect as Graterol got the loss by giving up one in the 6th, then Treinen gave up 1 in the 8th on the Jake Cronenworth home run. The Dodgers bullpen has been “lights out” all year, so I have all the confidence in the world moving forward that they will keep performing at a championship level. Gonsolin needs to get them the ball with the lead and let the pressure weigh down on the Padre’s offense.

Final Thoughts Moving Forward

It is disappointing that the Dodgers had a chance to bury the Padres at home with a Hall of Famer on the mound and with a lead, and that it didn’t happen. It’s enough to shake the confidence of Dodgers fans, that’s for sure, and it will also surely be a shot of confidence for a Padres team that has become accustomed to losing to the Dodgers. The other concerning aspect of this series is that Blake Snell takes the mound and he will be doing it in front of a crowd in San Diego that has not seen a playoff game at home since 2006. The environment is going to be absolutely bonkers, and one would have to assume that the Padres will feed off of that energy and that the Dodgers will get their best shot. And, to add to the concern, although Tony Gonsolin has been one of, if not the best pitcher in the MLB this year, he has a lifetime ERA in the post-season of 9.45 whereas the Padres starter, Blake Snell has a post-season ERA of just 3.05.

Friday is the exact game as to why the Dodgers signed a guy like Mookie Betts to such a long contract, or why they went and got Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner. Those guys are tasked with leading this club through a difficult situation and giving Gonsolin some space to get comfortable and pitch the way he has all year. Justin Turner needs to find his offensive groove, then, whoever is playing left field needs to add to the offense because, unless Bellinger starts hitting, the Dodgers can’t afford to have 2 positions on the field that only add defensive value. Miguel Vargas is on the roster, so do you dare put Lux back in left field and insert Vargas, or simply put Vargas in left field to try and catch lightning in a bottle with his offense? Obviously, that is a pretty far-fetched idea, but, the Dodgers have to find consistency with their offense, and for that to happen they have to start getting to get production at the bottom of their order, and Vargas might be able to do that.

One thing is for sure, this series has been a battle, the Padres are playing with confidence and the Dodgers are facing a very difficult chore moving forward. But, there is a reason why this club won 111 games and there is a lot of leadership in the star power for this team, so this is a challenge that this club is well suited to handle, they just need to take the field ready to play to their potential.