Dodgers Way Quick Hits: LA is the Champion of the West

After the 163rd game of the season, the Dodgers left nothing to the imagination when they put up five runs on the Colorado Rockies to claim the NL West for the sixth straight year. Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy both hit home runs and Walker Buehler was once again a hero, capping off his unbelievable season with 6.2 shutout innings with just one hit allowed.

The game was a masterpiece from all angles and there was really nothing to complain about. Walker Buehler was dominant from the second the game started and the offense, albeit taking a few innings to find their groove, looked really good. Buehler’s incredible performance should give the team confidence that the 24-year old will be a reliable piece to the postseason roster, rounding out a three-man rotation consisting of Kershaw, Ryu, and Buehler in that order. On the offensive side, the Dodgers have not been consistent at all this year but over the course of the last few games, there have been reasons to believe that they will turn it around for the postseason. Joc Pederson, Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, Justin Turner and Enrique Hernandez have all been scorching hot lately and the team will need that production against the Braves starting this Thursday in Los Angeles.

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While the offense was on fire and Walker Buehler was dominant,

Kenley Jansen

continued to struggle and put the cherry on top of a really rough season. Yesterday, Jansen allowed two ninth-inning homers to Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. The homers both came off cutters thrown right down the heart of the plate and the batters knew exactly what to do with them. The two homers raised Jansen’s home runs allowed total to 13, seven more than his previous high in a season. Of those 13 homers, eight of them have come in the second half of the season. The buck does not stop there for Kenley and his struggles. For the first time in his career, Jansen finished the season with an ERA above 3.00 and also worked with an ERA+ lower than anything since 2014. He will certainly be needed in the playoffs but Dave Roberts will have to be cautious when bringing in his All-Star closer because Jansen has been far from reliable over the last few weeks.

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The Dodgers will kick off their playoff schedule with the Braves this Thursday for the NLDS. Atlanta has enjoyed a bounce-back season in which they ran away with the NL East and improved their season record exponentially from the last few years. Lead by Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. the Braves pose a serious threat on offense and defense and the Dodgers will have to work hard to keep batters off base and they will need to get to the pitching early to work into a bullpen that has been far easier to beat than the rotation. This Thursday’s matchup will be in Los Angeles and it figures to be between Clayton Kershaw and Mike Foltynewicz who put up All-Star caliber numbers this year. The Braves are a solid team but in all honesty, this is the Dodgers series to lose.

Next. Dodgers: Walker Buehler Grows up on the Big Stage. dark

If the Dodgers win the NLDS, they will not have home-field advantage anymore in the playoffs unless the Rockies make it to the NLCS. Every team in both the NL and AL has a better record than the Dodgers except for Cleveland who finished with the same overall record but more victories within the division.

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