NLDS: The Dodgers-Padres have arrived at the collision course

10/05/2024 04:05 PM

by Cary Osborne

The ear-pounding relentless noise from Petco Park in 2022 still echoes two seasons later.

The chants, immediately after the Padres beat the Braves in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Wednesday, still echo.

"Beat LA … Beat LA … Beat LA."

The Dodgers have long been the bully on the Western Division block, but the Padres in recent years have pushed back.

And here they are again, standing nose-to-nose with the Dodgers in the 2024 National League Division Series.

"It's felt like it's been on a collision course for that," said Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations. "They're a good team, and it felt like we were on this collision course. It will be really good baseball."

"This is what everyone wanted," San Diego third baseman Manny Machado said, minutes after the Padres pushed the Braves out of the postseason.

The Dodgers and Padres opened the Major League season in Korea and the NL West Division crown came down to the final week of the season with the two teams playing against each other at Dodger Stadium.

San Diego took eight of the 13 matchups this season with some pretty bad memories for the Dodgers — Game 2 in Korea when San Diego ruined Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Major League debut and a game-ending triple-play on Sept. 24. And good memories — the season-opening win in Korea and the NL West clincher on Sept. 26.

The Dodgers also play with memories of recent playoffs.

They have lost six consecutive postseason games dating back to Game 2 of the 2022 NLDS. They scored a combined 13 runs in the six games and batted .208. They were 6-for-43 with runners in scoring position.

The past two Dodger teams, like this one, earned a bye in the first round of the postseason.

"We've gone into the '22 and '23 playoffs with really good offensive teams that have way underperformed, that haven't really hit the fastball," Friedman said. "We've done a lot of damage over the years on fastballs, and in the playoffs, we just haven't — whether it's timing, the time off. I don't really know what the answer is in terms of the why. And so, we're attacking this week a little bit differently, just trying to put our guys in the best position to use the five days to help rest and recover, but also stay synced up and timed up."

The Dodgers built up a lot of momentum down the stretch. They scored 109 runs over their final 14 games of the regular season, beginning with a nine-run outburst on Sept. 15. That's 24 runs more than the next closest Major League team — Arizona — from Sept. 15 till the end of the regular season.

The Dodgers batted .347 against fastballs in that span — also best in the Majors.

The line the last few years is that the layoff between the last regular season game and the postseason isn't the reason for the Dodgers' early exits.

This time around, the Dodgers have held an optional workout, intrasquad scrimmages, workout days and held team gatherings.

"Our players feel good about it. I feel good about the headspace, the eagerness to play in this series," Roberts said.

The line going into this NLDS is that the time off can only help the Dodgers, as first baseman Freddie Freeman (ankle) and shortstop Miguel Rojas (adductor muscle) recover from injuries and the pitching staff has reset.

Freeman said on Friday that the ankle injury he suffered would normally mean a four-to-six-week injured-list stint. It's been nine days since he last played, and now he is ready to play, despite still being a ways from 100%.

" It doesn't matter. (Today), who cares. No one is going to worry about me hindering or anything like that." Freeman said. "We just got to win ball games and that's my focus."

The Padres have their own significant injury with starting pitcher Joe Musgrove out and needing Tommy John surgery.

But after sweeping Atlanta in the Wild Card series and their performance against the Dodgers this year, there's a collective feeling of belief on the Padres side.

"I think we are more confident just by winning. Winning makes that happen," said Padres All-Star left fielder Jurickson Profar. "You're more confident in yourself and in your teammates, and we have a great team. And we believe in each other and we always are fighting for each other."

Fight.

It's been a word surrounding the Dodgers late in the season.

The Dodgers won the division despite an injury-riddled season for the pitching staff and adversity coming from all corners.

Now the Dodgers are ready to come out of the corner and fight again.

"I think there's some intensity. Some want to pay some people back and show how good we are," Roberts said. "And I like that. I like that feeling that's resonating in our clubhouse."

NLDS: The Dodgers-Padres have arrived at the collision course was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.