What happened to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS?

Six months ago, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts guaranteed the Dodgers to win the 2022 World Series, stating, “The Dodgers are winning the World Series in 2022.”

Clearly that did not happen.

On Saturday, October 15, the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers were one of the favorites to win the 2022 World Series, so it is definitely a disappointment for their fans that they couldn’t even make it to the NLCS.

So what went wrong for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason?

To start, L.A.’s regular season batting average was .257. In the playoffs, it was .227. Their bats were almost nonexistent. Some of the star hitters of the Dodgers (Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, and Mookie Betts) were not the same in the postseason as they were in the regular season. Smith, hit .260 in the regular season but only .188 in the postseason. Betts hit .269 in the regular season but only .143 in the postseason. Freeman and Turner, however, stayed as dominant, if not even better in the postseason.

For a team that relied heavily on the powerful four players of Smith, Freeman, Turner, and Betts and only two showing up when it matters the most is hard to overcome. Cody Bellinger, who struggled all season with a .210 average, hit only .143 in the NLDS, ultimately leading him to be benched in Game 4. The Dodgers bats were struggling and, against a strong Padres pitching staff of Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, and Josh Hader, the top bats in the lineup must hit the ball.

But the offense wasn’t the only problem the Dodgers had in the NLDS. Some of the L.A. pitching was nowhere as good as it was in the regular season. Dodgers future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was given the loss for Game 2. Kershaw is the type of pitcher who a team can rely on to be clutch. In the regular season, Kershaw pitched a 2.28 ERA with a 0.942 WHIP. In his Game 2 start, he threw a 5.40 ERA with a 1.200 WHIP.

For Game 4, the Dodgers started with Tyler Anderson. Anderson dominated the regular season and his start in Game 4. Anderson pitched 5.0 innings, allowing no runs on 86 pitches. The problem is clearly not Anderson, rather a tired bullpen and a poor decision by manager Dave Roberts to pull Anderson so early. In the 2020 World Series, Blake Snell was pulled early in the World Series with the Rays against the Dodgers. The Dodgers ultimately won the World Series, but it is always questioned what would happen if Snell stayed in. Fast forward two years, and the same thing is happening, this time with the Dodgers falling under the microscope.

Between the lack of hitting by the Dodgers and a strange managerial decision to pull one of their best pitchers early, it’s easy to see what ultimately harmed the Dodgers. San Diego’s pitching is elite, but Musgrove, Darvish, and Snell cannot go every day. The Dodgers needed to do better at the plate.

So far this postseason, the Padres are hitting .239, Phillies are at .237, Cleveland is at .228, and the Astros are at .217 with lights out pitching. Just in some comparison, the 2021 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves hit .246 throughout the postseason and the 2020 Dodgers hit .254.

The Dodgers .227 average just wasn’t good enough against the Padres pitching … and it probably wouldn’t have been good enough against the Phillies either.