Editorials

Dodgers: LA’s Offense, Not Pitching, Must Keep the Season Alive in Game 6

It’s time for the Dodgers offense to step up and push the series to Game 7. The news came down Friday night that Dodgers starter Max Scherzer will not start NLCS Game 6 in Atlanta. If manager Dave Roberts doesn’t start Walker Buehler on short rest, he’ll have to resort to a third bullpen game this series. All the more reason why the bats have to come alive – again.

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The Dodgers are missing Clayton Kershaw. Max Scherzer and Julio Urias are gassed. Really gassed. The bullpen has been overworked. LA’s offense must build the bridge to a winner-take-all Game 7 in Atlanta.

Not surprisingly, Dodgers relievers have pitched the most innings this postseason (54.1) and have the lowest combined ERA (2.32). Asking them to stifle the Braves for yet another game seems unfair and most importantly, unrealistic.

Game 6 needs to be another signature game for a lineup that can torment opposing pitching.

All season, the heavily hyped Dodgers offense has been light on consistent run support. Double-digit run games were followed by one score performances. Pedestrian starters baffled the bats.

LA’s lineup will have to make the hype real again on Saturday.

Dodgers Success Starts at the Top

The top of the lineup for the Dodgers (Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Trea Turner) can make any starter sweat. They’ll need to provide the fuel early and often for the Dodgers offensive engine.

If they don’t, AJ Pollock, Chris Taylor, and Cody Bellinger, yes, that Cody Bellinger, will serve as the reserve tanks.

That’s not to mention Will Smith – one of the best hitting catchers in baseball.

Each and every hitter doesn’t need to have the game of their life in Game 6. They do need to grind out at-bats and relieve the pressure off of a beleaguered pitching staff.

The arms have carried the Dodgers this far.

Now, the bats must save the Dodgers season.

NEXT: Albert Pujols Reflects on His Time in Los Angeles And How He Has Been Embraced

Eric Eulau

Born and raised in Ventura, not "Ven-CH-ura", California. Favorite Dodger Stadium food is the old school chocolate malt with the wooden spoon. Host of the Dodgers Nation 3 Up, 3 Down Podcast.

34 Comments

  1. Absolutely no reason they can’t. They did just so in game 5. Repeat performance please lol. Ok I’ll settle for 5 runs on 10 hits…I do want to be greedy lol.

    1. Dodgers let Anderson off the hook in the 1st inning. Betts and Seager both ahead in counts and too eager to be the hero.

    2. Unthinkable that Ian Anderson out-pitches Walker Buehler, but that is exactly what happened.

  2. A few things have me more comfortable ahead of game 6 vs my uneasy feeling prior to game 5.

    Firstly, the obvious, the bats showed up big time when prior to they had not. Secondly, pitching match-up on paper favored the Braves.

    Turn to game 6…pitching match-up favors Dodgers (yes I know Butane is on short rest but he was effective vs the Giants in the DS on 3 days too.) If the bats remain hot, advantage Dodgers (deeper lineup than Braves.)

    Lastly, the “wise-guys” have the Dodgers favored here. Are they always right? No. But they are right more often than they are wrong!

    Let’s go Dodgers!

  3. A good pitcher on his game makes the opposition batters look like they are all mysteriously ‘slumping’.

    LA’s best chance is that Atl’s pitcher is not at his best and…

    Walker’s arm holds up.

    Pitching wins.

      1. Just ask anyone who makes their living based on outcomes in baseball. Pitcher determines betting lines! End of story!

        BTW for a few years it’s how I made my living.

  4. Yes, the Dodgers offense must (AGAIN) show up to show out tonight because Buehler and the Dodgers’ bullpen will need them to. LET’S GO DODGERS!!!

  5. Two things the baseball “nerds” can’t measure irrespective of their number crunching…heart and desire!

    All their number crunching couldn’t have predicted CT3’s game 5 performance! Just sayin

    1. Paul, think IF the Dodgers were choking up, trying to move the line up forward, and considered EVERY game as if it were their last all season!!! Same goes for management regarding hitting. The league figured out that the Dodgers “Launch Angle” swings don’t do so well against slow sliders and cutters in the dirt. Amazing how all of the sudden Now, contact and putting the ball in play matters. Like it’s a “NEW” technique they just realized would be effective …. Let’s hope they all choke up, try and drive the ball in the gaps and bunt, sacrifice, squeeze to execute the basic fundamentals that have escaped them, and the entire game of baseball in the present. Go Dodgers!!

      1. Kirk, I wrote this under a different story. This whole series, at least in my eyes, has been staged for ratings. I mean CT3 is simply way too smart to have been caught where he was in game 1. Just didn’t match the script. Who knows.

        Nothing in this game surprises me anymore. Ya know

        1. I think it’s more like the team wants home runs, NOT RUNS ……It doesn’t f-ing matter how you score runs if the approach is always successful. But the team failed for about over a month with the ” LAUNCH ANGLE” to do so. I personally, and many many others here have been expressing the need for fundamental baseball when this team went into a funk. You just showed up here at the start of the play off’s, or at least under the df4life handle, but that’s what we’ve been talking about here for months. Hopefully management in this upcoming off season will put a focus on finding a few players that can execute these simple actions so they will be prepared IF they make the post season in years to come.

          1. Kirk, as I’ve mentioned before, I simply stumbled across this site with a couple weeks left in the regular season. I only read for a couple of weeks without posting. Don’t know what prompted me to begin posting. I’m totally with you in terms of fundamental baseball skills very apparently lacking with this team. I’m old school for sure. Hit and run, sacrifice, squeeze and all that good stuff. But that appears to be missing in all of baseball these days not just the Dodgers IMHO. It appears it’s just 21st century baseball, taken over by the quants. Whatever happened to the eyeball test??? Worked for over 100 years, now it’s garbage. My two cents.

      2. except CT3 hit 3 HRs based on his launch angle swing. It’s fine when you are locked in as he was. Looking for great pitching and an early lead led by our lefty hitters to knock out Ian Aqualung Anderson. Corey, Cody and Matt – get ‘er done!!!

        1. Ok Joe or should I say “Larry the cable guy?” Lol

          I’m in a much better mood than Thursday, could ya tell?

  6. DRRRRr benches Pujols for the lefty righty match up. So everyone forget about playing Hot hitters. Pujols was getting going and he sits…..Beaty is a contact hitter, but he’s not a HOF’er who just had big hits in a prior game. Is Beaty better than Pujols? This is why Drrrrrrrrrrrr has got to get out of here. It’s just stupid……………….

    1. Well I’m with you there. I would be starting Pujols for sure. A wasted opportunity IMO.

      1. Pollock doubles leading off inning. Beaty pops out to left, Buehler strikes out, Mookie grounds out. Gee, think if Pujols was up instead of Beaty…. Drrrrrrrr sucks………..

    1. Buehler loses d’Arnuad after ahead 1-2 with 2 outs…beginning of the end of season. Tragic.

  7. Thanks Roberts, another post season looks to be down the tubes, unless we can miraculously come back and win again in spite of you.

    Lux in center
    Fastest man in league and batting champ batting third
    Pitching to hot hitters with first base open
    Souza

    Inexplicably toying with pitching staff. Reversing roles of starters and relievers leading to dead arms.

    1. For the series:
      Betts .174
      Seager .167
      Turner .240
      Smith .217
      Taylor .476
      Belli .412
      Pollock .386
      Pujols .231

      I’d say the batting order was off for sure. Pitching to the opponent’s best hitters with 1st base open also a recipe for disaster. Compromised defense with out of position players. And still had chances to win each game.

  8. The only way we can lose this series on paper would be for Roberts to blow up the only 3 healthy starters we had and for the big name overpaid offense (Mookie and Seager in particular) to gag and puke as they often do. Two games in a row would be much to much to ask of this group. Would have Ben nice to have Alvarez in the lineup, but at least we did get Josh Fields for him when he was all of 19.. Nice job getting rid of him Andy. IMO the first six years of Friedman’s reign was comprised of dumpster dives and ex Rays projects. Somebody must have told him he’s got money in the bank and should spend it a couple of years ago. The Mookie signing was a total shock. On that note, I hope his health players into this year because for the most part he looked nothing more than average

  9. Best available options in key situations not utilized:

    Game 1: 2-1 Dodger lead on Smith’s HR, Gonsolin allowed to pitch to Riley, game tied. Riley pitched to again in 9th with 1B open. Result? Lose in walk off.

    Game 2: 4-2 Dodger lead in 8th. Urias brought in when Graterol and Jansen are in the pen. Still ok but Bellinger not in CF. Result? Riley’s drive over Mookie’s head. Result? 2nd consecutive walk off loss.

    Game 3: again no Cody in CF but somehow Cody produces miracle comeback victory.

    Game 4: yet again no Cody in CF. Julio pitches poorly to Braves hottest hitter Rosario who is responsible for Game 2 walk off with a 0-2 count. Result oppo taco HR. Down 1-0. Next batter Duval takes Julio deep on another 2 strike count. Couple of bloops later with 2 on inexperienced young CFer Lux doesn’t sell out and allows 3rd run to score. Julio throws arms up in disgust (can’t blame him). Dodger bats held at bay by Braves bullpen all game.

    Game 5: bats finally come alive, giving hope for a miracle repeat of 2020 with Scherzer and Buehler to start games 6 & 7 in Atlanta.

    Game 6: 1st inning with 2 outs and 1B open, Riley again pitched to, result? Down 0-1. Dodgers tie game in 4th (should have scored more.) Key to game and series. Need a shut-down inning when your team just tied game. Buehler retires 1st two hitters. #8 batter at the plate, 1-2 count and he walks him? Pinch hitter in 4th inning? Broken bat double. Still no damage. Braves hottest hitter at plate. 0-2 count, foul ball. Tried to expand and misses 1-2, two more foul balls, 1-2 gopher ball…result season ending HR. Oh ya 1B OPEN!

    1. So what your saying is a combination of Drrrrrrrrrrr’s usual and a impotent offense. I’m glad your finally seeing the light. By the way, Drrrrrrr’s post season winning percentage dropped AGAIN.

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