Dodger fans were left devastated on October 28th after they lost Game 5 of the World Series. Perhaps the most crushing part was that this is the second World Series the Dodgers have lost in a row. But why did they lose?
Most of the Dodgers’ problems in the series, and the regular season, were frequently leaving runners on base and relief pitching giving up runs during the most dire times. The game that they did win went to 18 innings (the longest game in World Series history) and ended after Max Muncy hit a home run off of the Red Sox’s Nathan Eovaldi. Kenley Jansen, one of the Dodgers best and most well-known relievers, gave up two home runs, and Clayton Kershaw, the Dodger’s ace, took the loss for both games he pitched.
Also, the Boston Red Sox statistically had a better regular season than the Dodgers. They won 108 games compared to the Dodgers’ 92 games. Not to sound like Joe Buck, but sometimes the Dodger’s offense acted as if the Red Sox’s pitching was unhittable.
The 2018 season is all over now, and there is potential for a lot of roster changes for the Dodgers.
At the end of the season, there were key Dodger players who could opt out of their contracts to become free agents, including Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Manny Machado, and Yasmani Grandal. Kershaw has decided to stay with the Dodgers and has a contract for three years with a total of $93 million. Recently, Ryu has also accepted a qualifying offer to stay with the Dodgers for one year with a $17.9 million contract. Yasmani Grandal did opt out, and is looking for other deals.
There has been some fan based backlash against the Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts, who has been with the team for 2 years. Fans are frustrated with the two World Series losses. There was also some controversy around Roberts’ pitching decisions during Game 4 when he pulled Rich Hill after a solid start, and they ended up losing by three runs when they had a 4 run lead in the sixth inning. But, the Dodgers do not seem to be hiring a new manager.
Looking forward, there are still many more decisions to be made about the future of the Dodgers roster.
