The Los Angeles Dodgers were unable to complete the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, but have been able to win five of their last six games.
The final leg of their road trip is a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in what’s also the Dodgers’ first visit to Chase Field since last October. That was where the Dodgers’ season came crashing down as the Diamondbacks finished off a sweep in the National League Division Series.
Monday’s game is the first time the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are playing in the regular season since that NLDS matchup.
However, Max Muncy refuted any notion the Dodgers are thinking about what happened in 2023 and reiterated their focus is internal and what lies ahead, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“No. We gotta focus on ourselves,” Max Muncy said. “You guys have heard me say it a million times. If we’re worried about the other team, we’re already in a bad spot. So we’re trying to focus on ourselves and focus on what we need to do to be prepared for the game. Ultimately, the only thing we need to worry about in terms of the other team is who is on the mound and prepare ourselves that way.”
The Dodgers of this past week look like a team that is playing at the level in which they were expected to. Having a roster that isn’t built like the one from last year has helped with that, eliminating any questions of carryover for manager Dave Roberts:
“None whatsoever,” he said.
“I’ve said this a couple times. This year in particular, there’s the least amount of carryover from the previous year than there’s ever been. And I think it’s because of the names we’ve added to the roster – which is a good thing, certainly in this case.”
Freddie Freeman added the Dodgers have a long postseason history that serves as even more reason not to solely grasp onto playing the Diamondbacks:
“I don’t think any of us thought of that,” he said about facing the Diamondbacks. “I guess you could say that against the Padres too, every time we play them?
“No. We’ve been playing good baseball of late. Trying to take care of that and win tomorrow.”
While the Diamondbacks have played a middling brand of baseball to this point, they gave the Dodgers fits at home early into the 2023 season and are looking to repeat that success.
Dodgers trying to stay hot against Diamondbacks
Facing a pair of left-handers in Tommy Henry and Jordan Montgomery, the Dodgers will need to lean on the top of their lineup.
There has been improvement from role players at the bottom of the order, and continued contributions from them would go a long way as well. Particularly with Andy Pages, whose presence has brought a refreshing element with his approach and ability to hit the ball to all fields.
Meanwhile, James Paxton, Landon Knack and Yoshinobu Yamamoto get the ball for the Dodgers, none of which were on the club last year.
More must-reads: