This week, the MLB Division Series matchups will be played. The Los Angeles Dodgers overcame the Wild Card Round after defeating the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, October 1, by a score of 8-4. Dave Roberts and company know that they have enough weapons to continue their march towards the World Series, however, the upcoming opponent represents one of their greatest fears.
As a summary of the game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out nine and worked into the seventh inning for Los Angeles, who scored four times in the sixth inning to beat Cincinnati. A day after hitting five home runs to tie the franchise record in the playoffs and win 10-5 in the first game of the Wild Card Series, the Dodgers eliminated the Reds with short hits and a total of 13 hits.
Dodgers face Phillies, one of the favorites to win the World Series
Heavyweight duel. Los Angeles clashes with Philadelphia coming in as a dark horse, as the Phillies – at least on paper – are favorites to win this series. The last time they met in the postseason (2009), it was The Fightins who sent the Dodgers 4 games to 1 in the National League Championship Series, just as they did the year before.
However, the Dodgers at that time did not have figures such as Shohei Ohtani, who would clearly make a big difference. But again, the numbers support Philadelphia, as the star-studded Phillies, who finished with 96 wins and defeated the Dodgers two weeks ago, are ready for October and will be looking forward to it after having a first-round bye.
Their best-of-five National League Division Series could easily become the World Series, knowing that whoever wins should be the favorite for the rest of October. The Dodgers won’t say it publicly, but just like a year ago, when they beat the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series before sweeping through October, they believe this could be their World Series.
Dave Roberts shows confidence in Roki Sasaki
Manager Dave Roberts said afterwards: “I think we can win it all. I think we’re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree. We certainly have the hunger. We’re playing great baseball. And quite honestly, I don’t care who we play against. I just want to be the last team standing.” In addition, the manager will bring a little surprise for the game against the Phillies.
They will bring in a 23-year-old rookie who had never pitched a game as a reliever in his life until a few weeks ago, and suddenly has been anointed as their closer, just in time for the powerful Phillies. Say hello to Roki Sasaki, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in the Dodgers’ 8-4 victory, throwing 11 pitches, nine strikes, with nine fastballs reaching at least 100 mph, answering the Dodgers’ prayers with their bullpen in trouble.
“I trust him, and he’s going to pitch with an advantage,” said the head coach, who could not even imagine saying those words a week ago. “The more you pitch and the more you put to play, the more you learn. I don’t think the moment is too important for Roki,” said Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
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