Dodgers Analysis: Takeaways from the NLDS

LOS ANGELES, CA—For the second consecutive season and the eighth time over the last thirteen years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading back to the National League Championship Series after a thrilling 2-1 walk-off win. 

The Dodgers outlast the Philadelphia [iha Phillies and avoid a flight back to Citizens Bank Park and will now have three days off as they await the winner of the Cubs Brewers series, which will be decided in Game Five tonight.

But, while we sit here and wait, what can we take away from the four games of this series, and should we be worried about a few players on offense? How did the bullpen shake out? And where does the team go from here?

The Offense Was Flat

The story of this NLDS was the pitching, and that’s just as true for the Phillies as it was for the Dodgers.

The four games played featured some of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball going toe-to-toe, which caused the offenses for both clubs to struggle.

That’s a foreign concept for this Dodgers team, however, as just last October their offense was by far the best, averaging 5.93 runs per game en route to their eighth World Series title.

However, for this four-game series against the Phillies, the offense was absent except for a few individual performances scattered throughout the lineup.

Overall, the team hit just .199 as a team along with a .557 OPS, 58 wRC+, went 5-for-29 with 31 runners left on base, and only slugged one single home run, which happened to be the biggest hit of the entire series in Game One on Saturday off the bat of Teoscar Hernández.

What’s even more jarring is that the Phillies scored more runs, had more hits, hit more home runs, struck out fewer times, drew more walks, and stole more bases, but still managed not to win more than a game.

What is concerning for the Dodgers is how multiple star players performed in this series, with none struggling more than Shohei Ohtani.

The Phillies’ pitching staff, which was occupied by some elite left-handed talent, held Ohtani, the presumptive 2025 National League MVP, in check and made him look more human than ever before.

Overall, Ohtani went 1-for-20 in the series with nine punch outs, the most of any Dodgers hitter in the four games played against Philadelphia.

Freddie Freeman was also cold, which was shown by his .200/.294/.267 slash line and .561 OPS, and by the 2024 World Series MVP, taking batting practice on the field, which he rarely does unless he’s searching for his swing.

Apart from a few large innings, the offense remained quiet. While those big innings ultimately secured the Dodgers’ victory in the series, for the majority of the games, the bats were mostly silent.

While we can’t expect the starting pitchers to dominate every game, the Dodgers showing they can succeed without their offense makes me feel optimistic. I can’t see how the Dodgers could possibly perform worse in the next round—it’s just not possible.

The Starting Pitching Was Elite

Entering October, the Dodgers’ bread and butter was the starting rotation. Finally, the staff was fully healthy and ready to go at full strength in the postseason.

Ultimately, this led to some guys being cut from the starting staff and shifted to the bullpen to help fill the void there. However, the four-headed monster of Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow was too much for even the Phillies and their potent lineup to handle.

From a starter perspective, the Dodgers in four games had a 2.45 ERA, 2.54 FIP, an 11.45 K/9, 0.41 HR/9 in 22 innings pitched, with their “worst” start coming from Yamamoto, who allowed three earned runs in four innings pitched during the Dodgers’ 8- 8-2 loss on Wednesday.

All of their starters outside of Yamamoto pitched deep into the game, going six innings in each start, making it easier for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to work around his shaky bullpen and keeping the Dodgers’ offense in the game even though they were slumping across the board.

This is something the Dodgers hope continues in the NLCS. It’ll be interesting to see if they add Emmet Sheehan back to the fold with three straight games being played in the middle of the series, or perhaps Clayton Kershaw.

The Bullpen Was Serviceable

The most significant question mark for the Dodgers this October was undoubtedly the bullpen, and for good reason, as multiple key arms, such as veterans Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates, struggled in the final month of the regular season, along with the team ranking in the bottom half of the league in ERA and FIP.

Still, the Dodgers planned to use their wide range of starting pitching depth to fill in the broken parts of the bullpen, and so far, it’s worked.

While the overall numbers aren’t pretty with the team posting a collective 4.50 ERA and 5.01 FIP in 16 innings pitched, a lot of that is to blame on the “punt” game on Wednesday, where Kershaw was left out there to wear it and allow five runs in a single inning.

However, it was key performances by specific individuals like Alex Vesia, who tossed two solid innings of work without allowing a single run, all while weaving in and out of trouble.

Tyler Glasnow looked great in his 1.2 innings of work in Game One, and it should be a role we see again from the right-hander in the NLCS and World Series, should they get there.

Even Blake Treinen, who didn’t look sharp in Game Two, rebounded well in a mop-up ninth inning in Game Three, but the most prominent performer was Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki has pitched 5.1 innings this postseason without allowing a run. He started by closing out Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series versus the Cincinnati Reds. Subsequently, he pitched in two consecutive NLDS games on the road in Philadelphia.

Sasaki’s most crucial moment was during yesterday’s dramatic walk-off victory. The right-hander came in during the eighth inning and retired nine consecutive batters, extending the Dodgers’ bullpen and helping contain the Phillies’ hitters until the team managed to score.

It was the first time in Major League Baseball postseason history that a relief pitcher entered the game and threw three perfect innings, a feat that probably won’t be repeated anytime soon.

Sasaki will be a massive part of the Dodgers’ bullpen plans throughout October, and if he can continue this run, look out.

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