The Los Angeles Dodgers are officially back in the National League Championship Series, locking it down after defeating the Atlanta Braves in four games in the NLDS. Get ready for a rematch, because it’s going to be the Milwaukee Brewers up next, with the NLCS kicking off on Sunday night in Milwaukee. The exact game times are still TBD, but the stage is set!
Roberts Is Hyped, Díaz Is Back
After closing out the Braves at Truist Park, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was absolutely fired up, telling his team, “We talked about this. There’s no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’re the best organization in sports, top to bottom. We’re smarter, we’re better, and we’re tougher.” Talk about a statement! He didn’t stop there, though, singling out a few players who really stepped up this season. One of those guys? Edwin Díaz.
Díaz has been lights out since getting over his neck inflammation in late September. He clearly earned back all the trust, closing out both of the Dodgers’ final two wins in Atlanta. Roberts had high praise for his closer after the game, saying, “He’s had a tough season. He’s been hurt. He was having trouble with his delivery and went on a long rehab assignment. But to get him pitching the way , that’s the reason why we got him. The last two nights, that’s the reason why we acquired a guy like Edwin Diaz. He’s one of the great closers in the game. For him to be pitching his best right now, that’s what you hope for, and I give him a lot of credit.” Díaz pitched three scoreless innings across three games in the series, striking out three of the ten batters he faced. He even got out of a jam in Game 3 after giving up a leadoff double in the ninth. Díaz himself said, “The team trusts me. I think that was the most important thing for me, the team trust me. They give me the ball every single day. And the last two nights it’s been amazing. That’s why I came here to win games and close games like this one. So I’m really happy right now.” That’s the kind of confidence you need heading into the next round.
Pages Turns It Up
But Díaz wasn’t the only one Roberts shouted out. Andy Pages also came up big. Pages grabbed multiple hits in each of the last two NLDS games, and he dropped a game-winning two-run single in the seventh inning of Game 4. That’s a massive turnaround from last postseason, where he had just one RBI in 16 games and only four hits in 51 at-bats. Fabian Ardaya over at The Athletic even wrote about this insane turnaround. Unfortunately, the Dodgers did have a small scare, with Miguel Rojas leaving Game 3 in the eighth with lower back pain and being unavailable for the rest of the series.
So, the Dodgers are rolling, full of confidence, and they’ve got some key guys stepping up huge. Sunday night is the NLCS opener against the Brewers. The schedule’s still coming together, but you know everyone’s going to be glued to those exact start times!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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