After eliminating the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers remained on the road to begin an NL Championship Series rematch with the Atlanta Braves.
Although the Dodgers finished with the second-best record in baseball at 106-56, they did not have home-field advantage over the 86-win Braves who were NL East champions. Including the NLDS and through the first two games of the NLCS, L.A. had been on the road for five consecutive days.
That of course is hardly uncommon during the regular season, but can be more draining come the playoffs because of a heightened intensity level.
That factor, coupled with the Dodgers losing back-to-back NLCS games on walk-off fashion, prompted Chris Taylor to express some relief with the team now returning to Dodger Stadium amid some fatigue, via SportsNet LA:
“It hurts to lose in the fashion we did, but at the same time we’ve been here before. We were here last year against them. It definitely is going to be nice to play in front of our home crowd. I think we’re going to feel good with a day off going into Tuesday. … I think we’re tired and ready to get home. … I think it’s everything; physically and mentally draining.
“These games are four and five hours long. The level of focus is a little bit different than in a regular season game. It’s definitely exhausting, but that’s what you expect. I think everyone on this team has experience with it.”
Although the Dodgers are returning home, where they were an MLB-best 58-23 this year, they certainly face a difficult challenge trailing in the NLCS by two games.
Of course, L.A. was in a similar position last year, and even after winning Game 3, fell to the brink of elimination before rallying with three consecutive victories. One notable difference with this year’s NLCS is both teams can have a true home-field advantage rather than playing in the bubble.
Turner was excited for postseason at Dodger Stadium
Prior to the postseason beginning, Justin Turner was among those to express how much he was looking forward to Dodger Stadium being back to full capacity for playoff games.
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