Diamondbacks Manager Addresses Dodgers Late Success in Stopping AZ Running Game
Over the course of the season, one of the better stories has been the rise of the young Arizona Diamondbacks team. They defied expectations for this season, and are now getting ready to take on the Dodgers in the NLDS.
Arizona was expected to be better than they were last season, but there weren’t too many that picked them to make the postseason. But they came together and battled all season long.
They use their speed to their advantage, and they play an interesting sort of game. Early in the season when LA matched up with Arizona, they had some trouble against them. LA has been bad against stopping baserunners all year long, and they will need to limit Arizona in this playoff series.
The Diamondbacks stole 11 of 11 bases in the eight games the two teams played against one another, but only went one for three in stolen bases when they met up later in the year.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo provided some insight into why that could be.
“I think (the Dodgers) didn’t understand necessarily what type of game we were going to play,” in April, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Once they saw that they read it and reacted to it.”
Per The OC Register
The Dodgers took what Arizona did to them, and adjusted their gameplan to beat them. It’s what the better teams do, and why LA has been so successful of late.
But it also seems that other teams around the league adjusted to the Diamondbacks as well. Once opponents get some film on a squad, they can take that and run with it.
“I think the league caught up to us and it took a little adjustment for us,” Lovullo said. “There’s an adjustment period of time. But we believe in our running game. We’ve got targets, and we know the guys can successfully do it and who they can do it against. And those are the things we’re reviewing right now.”
Per The OC Register
For the Dodgers to be successful in this series, they are going to need to continue finding their late-season success against the Diamondbacks. Arizona is a young team with nothing to lose in their first playoffs as a group, so all the pressure is on LA.
The Dodgers have the means to win this series and should be the favorites. But as they found out last season, that doesn’t always mean anything. So, LA will need to come in focused and ready to go, otherwise, they could face a similar fate to how last year went.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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