For the 5th time in the last 8 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the NL pennant! This Dodgers team was not just about the superstars, but about the depth of their team, as many different players, some you would not expect, contributed to winning back-to-back NL pennants.
Starting Pitching Fuels Playoff Success
This 2025 version had many doubters. As the Dodgers went into October with one of the worst bullpens in baseball, which is typically a key to a deep postseason run. But the Dodgers were able to overcome their awful bullpen by having dominant games from their starting pitching.
Blake Snell has been unhittable, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been dominant, pitching a complete game against the Brewers, Tyler Glasnow also has been great, and Ohtani closed it out with a shutout of his own.
The excellence of the starting pitching has carried them, allowing the bullpen to pitch a minimal amount of innings. The reliever that has stepped up the most is none other than newly named closer Roki Sasaki.
Originally a starting pitcher, manager Dave Roberts had the foresight to play Sasaki as a reliever, and it was a brilliant move as Sasaki quickly became their best reliever. Sasaki is clearly the Dodgers’ closer moving forward, and his stuff is nasty as hitters have no chance when Sasaki takes the mound.
Support Local and Independent Sports Writing – Subscribe To the LAFB Network Today!
Vote For Your Favorite Duo: Ohtani – Yamamoto, Betts – Freeman, Hernandez – Hernandez
But it’s not just their pitching that has been excellent; their hitting and defense have carried them through these wins. Shockingly, many of the stars have struggled in the postseason, including Shohei Ohtani who only had 1 hit against the Phillies, and Freddie Freeman has been hot and cold through most of this run.
It has been the others, guys like Teoscar Hernandez, Kiké Hernandez, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy who have come up with timely hits for the Dodgers, which many would not have expected, knowing that the Dodgers have Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani on their team.
Perhaps the biggest play of the Dodgers’ postseason run was by third baseman Miguel Rojas in Game 2 against the Phillies. With the score tied 0-0 with runners in scoring position with 2 outs, Rojas fielded a ground ball and had to make a play to stop a run from scoring, and he sure did, diving to third base to beat Trae Turner to the bag to end the inning. This play ignited the offense in the next inning, and the Dodgers pulled ahead 4-0 in the top of the 7th.
Dodgers Look To Repeat As World Series Champions
This Dodgers team has shown a ton of grit and resilience throughout the postseason. The depth has propelled them to a dominant pennant run, only dropping one game in a loaded National League. A well-balanced team, the Dodgers will look to make it back-to-back World Series titles against the AL champion, following the deciding Game 7 between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners.