DODGERS WILL FACE SAN DIEGO IN NLDS AFTER PADRES SWEEP ATLANTA
DODGERS HOPING TO ADVANCE TO NLCS AFTER TWO YEARS OF FAILURE
The San Diego Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves this Tuesday, and will move on to the NLDS to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. In what now seems to be a bi-yearly reunion, the Dodgers have played the Padres in both the 2020 and 2022 NLDS splitting the two series.
Now the Padres have a team with the least amount of holes for the postseason. A well oiled bullpen, strong rotation and hot bats are exactly what you need for a successful postseason and the Padres have all the reason to make a big run this year. After shutting down the Dodgers in 2022, the Padres lost to the Phillies in the NLCS and decided to try and make improvements to the pitching staff by trading away superstar Juan Soto. With addition of Cease, King and Higashioka, the Padres are just as feared as any team should be who have been the best team in all of baseball in the recent months.
For the Dodgers it is only fitting that the year where Ohtani is breaking records, you will have to get through a NL West rival in San Diego. However, the boys in blue are trying to avoid back to back years in being eliminated in the Division Series.
A question that lingers for the entirety of an MLB season, is if having the bye-week for the playoffs actually hurts the team more than benefits. For the Dodgers, it is a chance for players to get healthy and feel prepared against the Padres, who are World Series favorites.
The first game is Saturday, October 5th at Dodger Stadium, and the Padres are tired of being the little brother to the Dodgers. Los Angeles needs to prove that they can handle business against the toughest team in the NL.
