MLB Division Series: Analyzing the Dodgers’ Game 5 win over the Padres

This means the Los Angeles Dodgers will travel to the NLCS to face the New York Mets.

After four heated showdowns in the National League Division Series, the Dodgers defeated the division rival San Diego Padres 2-0 in a win or go home finale at Dodger Stadium.

How did Los Angeles punch its ticket to the championship series? We’ll provide you with all the action and analysis from the game, as well as our takeaways after the final pitch.

Takeaways

Los Angeles Dodgers 2, San Diego Padres 0

Praise the Dodgers for their resilience. That hasn’t exactly been their strength in recent postseasons, but they came into this series with a broken pitching staff and faced a Padres team that was red-hot and full of, shall we say, expectations that they would defeat their hated rival would . Freddie Freeman was injured and ineffective, the Padres danced in Game 2, Shohei Ohtani didn’t do much after a home run in Game 1, and the Dodgers didn’t have a starting pitcher for Game 4. Still, they win the series and advance to the NLCS.

Dave Roberts – the oft-maligned manager – devised a master game plan in Game 4, using eight different relievers, then rode Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen to another shutout in Game 5. Pitching is still the be-all and end-all in the postseason – even if you don’t always know where it’s going to come from. As for the Padres, perhaps there’s a reason they haven’t won an NL West title during the Dodgers’ dominance: They still aren’t that good. – David Schoenfield

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