Dodgers Know Their Challenge Has Not Been Met Yet
The Dodgers knocked off the Brewers in seven games to claim the NL pennant.
Now, however, comes the real challenge — a World Series matchup with the Boston Red Sox.
| Team | Apps | Last WC |
|---|---|---|
| Braves | 14 | 1995 |
| Dodgers | 12* | 1988 |
| A's | 11 | 1989 |
| Indians | 11 | 1948 |
| Rangers | 8 | None |
| Twins | 7 | 1991 |
| Angels | 6 | 2002 |
| Tigers | 6 | 1984 |
| Yankees | 6 | 2009 |
| Mets | 6 | 1986 |
| Pirates | 6 | 1979 |
And the Dodgers know that their franchise, in particular, needs to win the world championship to feel like the season has been a success.
“We have got to finish the job this time,” said third baseman Justin Turner.
Last time, which was last October, the Dodgers lost in seven games to the Astros.
Big deal? Well, consider that the Dodgers are in the post-season for the 12th time since last winning a world championship, in 1998.
Right now, having failed to win a world championship in their last 11 post-season appearances is tied for the second-longest post-season streak without a world championship with the A’s, and Indians. The longest current streak belongs to the Braves, who have made 14 post-season appearances since their last world championship.
THE BREWERS couldn’t find relief for their own struggles in the post-season. They came up one win short of appearing in the World Series for only the second time since their inception as the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969.
And relief is the key word for the Brewers, who didn’t merely set an LCS record for innings pitched by relief pitchers. They blew the rest of the field away. Brewers relievers worked 45 1/3 innings, 11 more than the previous record set by the Yankees in 2004.
The Dodgers weren’t shy about going to the bullpen, either. While their relievers worked 31 innings, compared to 45 1/3 for the Brewers, the Dodgers still tied the 2003 Marlins for fifth-highest work total for relievers in an LCS.
Bullpening
| Team | Season | W-L | SvOP | G | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewers | 2018 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 7 | 45.1 | 37 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 68 | 3.38 |
| Yankees | 2004 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 7 | 34.1 | 41 | 18 | 18 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 25 | 4.72 |
| Red Sox | 2004 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 7 | 33.2 | 44 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 19 | 3 | 27 | 5.61 |
| Mets | 1999 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 6 | 32.1 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 32 | 2.23 |
| Marlins | 2003 | 3-1 | 2-3 | 6 | 31 | 25 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 30 | 3.77 |
| Dodgers | 2018 | 3-0 | 2-2 | 7 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 40 | 1.45 |
| Cardinals | 2012 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 7 | 30 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| Indians | 1998 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 5 | 29.2 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 27 | 1.52 |
| Cardinals | 1996 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 7 | 29.1 | 35 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 25 | 5.83 |
| Cardinals | 2011 | 3-0 | 2-2 | 6 | 28.2 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 1.88 |
Dodgers shortstop Manny Macahdo has a long history with the Red Sox from his days with the Orioles, who are in the AL East along with the Red Sox. His 16 home runs are six more than the rest of the Dodgers combined. And he has 52 RBI, 18 more than the rest of the Dodgers combined.
Manny Knows (Red Sox) Best
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manny Machado | 95 | 383 | 46 | 106 | 28 | 0 | 16 | 52 | 25 | 65 | .277 | .321 | .475 |
| Brian Dozier | 40 | 154 | 21 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 42 | .234 | .294 | .377 |
| Chase Utley | 33 | 129 | 13 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 23 | .240 | .293 | .372 |
| David Freese | 16 | 53 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | .226 | .333 | .358 |
| Chris Taylor | 7 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .200 | .250 | .200 |
| Justin Turner | 7 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .167 | .211 | .389 |
| Kike Hernandez | 6 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .333 | .412 | .533 |
| Max Muncy | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .000 | .083 | .000 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 3 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .375 | .545 | .500 |
| Matt Kemp | 3 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .154 | .143 | .308 |
| Joc Pederson | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .2 | .000 |
| Yasiel Puig | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .222 | .3 | .222 |
J.D. Martinez has the most experience against the Dodgers of any Red Sox hitter — 76 at-bats. He has hit .263 with six home runs and 13 RBI. He also has struck out 22 times.
Red Sox Dodging LA
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.D. Martinez | 20 | 76 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 22 | .263 | .349 | .579 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 17 | 61 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | .213 | .250 | .361 |
| Ian Kinsler | 16 | 61 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | .246 | .303 | .279 |
| Steve Pearce | 16 | 42 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 6 | .238 | .273 | .524 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 8 | 29 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .448 | .438 | .586 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 5 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .294 | .278 | .294 |
| Sandy Leon | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .250 | .333 | .500 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .375 | .375 | .375 |
| Mookie Betts | 3 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .571 | .750 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .1000 | .308 | 0.1 |
| Brock Holt | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .167 | .375 | .167 |
| Mitch Moreland | 3 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .182 | .250 | .182 |