Max Muncy Downplays Dodgers’ Struggles Against Playoff Teams

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season after clinching another National League West title and finishing with the No. 2 seed, which gave them an automatic bye into the Division Series.

The Dodgers will face whoever wins Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.

Despite finishing with the second-best record in the NL, the Dodgers didn’t always find success against the teams that make up this year’s playoff field. They went just 2-14 over their final 16 head-to-head matchups against such clubs during the regular season. Overall, the Dodgers were 38-37 against teams with winning records this year.

“It doesn’t matter,” Max Muncy said. “In ’22, we beat the Padres, like, 16 times in the regular season, and they beat us in the postseason. It just doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter.

“You see it every single year where there’s a team that really struggled against another team, and then they go out there and kind of just take it to them in the postseason. That’s why it really doesn’t matter. “I know there’s things you look at on paper where you say this is a good matchup. But in October, it really doesn’t matter.”

The unpredictable nature of the MLB postseason is why regular-season matchups matter so little on paper. For Muncy, October success boils down to whoever gets hot at the right time.

“Every team has the ability to (win the World Series),” Muncy explained. “That’s the one thing that I’ve noticed over the years, it all comes down to who’s going to play good baseball, who gets hot, who’s going to have the pitching, who’s going get one hitter that gets really, really hot. There’s not really any proper way to guess it.

“Obviously, when you look on paper, there are certain teams you think are better than others, but you kind of throw that all out the window when it comes to the postseason. Any team can go out there and win. That’s why it’s such a fun time to play in October.”

The Dodgers’ earlier struggles against postseason teams can be attributed in part to the plethora of injuries that ravaged them throughout the year. They started getting healthier over the final month and started playing much better baseball.

L.A. finished 18-7 in September and will now look to keep that momentum going as they try to complete the rare three-peat.

Max Muncy believes experience is key to postseason

Muncy recently discussed the Dodgers’ improved play, crediting it to their ability to handle any adversity thrown their way. He believes the team’s experience played a massive role in that resilience and thinks it is the single most important factor for potential postseason success.