Dodgers May Not Take Batting Practice During Postseason
The Los Angeles Dodgers are 2-0 since they clinched their second consecutive National League West title. They essentially haven’t had anything to play for, though Justin Turner pointed to keeping momentum on their side as reason to win.
The winning has come with the Dodgers not taking batting practice on a regular basis. Manager Don Mattingly made the decision to have the team skip batting practice on multiple occasions during their series at Wrigley Field and was pleased with the results, according to Michael Lananna of MLB.com:
We had pretty good success in Chicago with our energy, I felt like, without the BP,” Mattingly said. “The BP gets to be one of those things that you do every day, every day, every day, and it kind of wears you down mentally. So really no BP has kind of been a mental break for us, I feel like.”
In the four-game set with the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers scored a combined 37 runs and tallied 53 hits, taking three of the four games along the way.
With the positive results Mattingly has seen, he indicated batting practice may not be a regular occurrence in the postseason as he doesn’t see much value for it this late in the year:
If you’re not ready now, you’re not going to be ready,” Mattingly said “Ten more swings in BP or 15 more swings in BP is not going to change anything at this point.”
The Dodgers begin their postseason with Game 1 of the NLDS set for Oct. 3 at Chavez Ravine. With the results of Saturday’s games, the Dodgers are still waiting to see if they’ll face the St. Louis Cardinals or Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cardinals currently hold a one-game lead in the division standings, but if they lose Sunday and the Pirates win, it would force a one-game playoff Monday in St. Louis.