Dodgers' 1st and 2nd starters collapse, will the 'San Diego nightmare' from 2 years ago be repeated?
Dodgers' 1st and 2nd starters collapse, will the 'San Diego nightmare' from 2 years ago be repeated?
Blog Article
The Los Angeles Dodgers, considered the strongest team in Major League Baseball (MLB) but suffering a slump every fall, show signs of repeating their jinx this year as well.
The Dodgers suffered a crushing defeat to the San Diego Padres 2-10 in Game 2 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, USA on the 7th (Korean time).
The series record is even at 1 win and 1 loss, but the momentum seems to be turning in San Diego's favor.
The Dodgers' loss was due to the poor performance of their starting pitchers.
The Dodgers sent in Jack Flaherty for Game 2, but he was credited with the loss after allowing four runs on five hits, including two home runs, in 5⅓ innings.
In Game 1, which the Dodgers won 7-5 the day before, starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was taken off the mound after giving up five runs in three innings.
Because the starting pitchers were poor in both games, there is uncertainty on the mound in the remaining games 3-5.
The Dodgers opened the season with a starting rotation that included 커뮤니티 Tyler Glasnow, Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, James Paxton and Gavin Stone.
Former aces Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, who had been out with injuries during the season, returned, and after the All-Star game, they even acquired Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers.
However, ahead of the postseason, they were unable to properly assemble a starting lineup.
Glasnow, Stone and Kershaw are out with injuries, while Buehler and Miller are struggling.
However, Yamamoto and Flaherty were put forward as the vanguard, believing that they would be a 'one-two punch', but neither of them lived up to expectations.
The Dodgers were eliminated two years ago in the Division Series by division rival San Diego, falling 1-3.
The Dodgers won the Western Conference title this regular season with a five-game lead over San Diego, but their prospects for the Division Series were not bright.
A significant number of experts predicted that San Diego would have the upper hand over the Dodgers, who have a weak starting rotation.
The Dodgers boast the strongest batting lineup with three league MVPs in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, but fall baseball is often decided by the performance of pitchers rather than batters.