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The Los Angeles Dodgers are using an underdog mentality to get them through the postseason after a 2-0 win in Game 5 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres on Friday night sent them to the National League Championship Series.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy shouted down all of the “experts” who predicted they would lose to the Padres after leading MLB with 98 wins during the regular season.
“What was it, 80 percent of the f–king experts said we were going to lose?” Muncy said. “F–k those guys. We know who we are. We’re the f—ing best team in baseball, and we’re out there to prove it.”
It’s unclear where Muncy came up with 80 percent of experts picked against the Dodgers. MLB.com’s panel of analysts predicted the Padres to win the series before it started, but it wasn’t split up by voting totals.
When the Dodgers fell behind 2-1 in the series, the odds heavily swung in San Diego’s favor. Teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five have won the series 72.3 percent of the time.
The Padres had a chance to clinch at home in Game 4 where they started 3-0 this postseason. They also had an 8-5 record against the Dodgers during the regular season and scored at least five runs in each of the first three games of the series.
There was nothing to suggest that San Diego’s offense was going to go cold, so it seemed like the Dodgers’ bats would have to keep up in order to win.
Unfortunately for the Padres, their bats not only went cold, they completely vanished for all but one inning over the past three games. Even their victory in Game 3 saw them score all six of their runs in the second inning.
The Padres went scoreless over the final 24 innings in the series. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon noted it’s the longest scoreless drought by a single team in the playoffs since the 1991 Atlanta Braves in the NLCS against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
There were plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Dodgers’ ability to pull off a comeback. Their pitching staff was a mess early in the series with the longest start being Jack Flaherty’s 5.1-inning outing in Game 2.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto rebounded from a rough Game 1 by throwing five shutout innings in Game 5. Four Dodgers relievers combined to throw four perfect innings with five strikeouts.
The Dodgers’ offense came courtesy of solo homers by Enrique Hernández and Teoscar Hernández off Padres starter Yu Darvish.
Muncy and the Dodgers get to take their victory lap after avoiding a third straight season ending with a loss in the NLDS. They don’t have to much time to celebrate since they will host the New York Mets for Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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