Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.
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that → welcome → season
The Dodgers enter the final weekend of the season having checked every important item on their regular-season to-do list.
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Dodgers → enter → list
A first-round playoff bye that will see them avoid a best-of-three wild card round.
And, perhaps most importantly, a healthy starting rotation entering this quest for a third-straight World Series title this October.
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them → see → title
For most of this year, that last objective seemed to be constantly in doubt, thanks to extended injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow as well as Shohei Ohtani’s return to a hitting-only role.
But now, barring a last-second setback, the team knows it will have a powerhouse rotation after all, with Snell, Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and trade deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal all set to feature in the star-studded group.
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Snell → seem → group
The only real question entering the team’s pre-NLDS bye week is how those four will be lined up for the best-of-five series.
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four → enter → series
Yamamoto is most accustomed to pitching on five days of rest, while someone like Skubal has more experience making only four-day turns.
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someone → pitch → turns
If Yamamoto starts Game 1, and Skubal starts Game 2, both would be available for a potential winner-take-all Game 5 –– Yamamoto on what would be five days’ rest, and Skubal on four.
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what → start → four
Snell, meanwhile, could make the most sense for Game 3.
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Snell → make → Game
Glasnow, meanwhile, could be an option out of the bullpen early in the series before getting lined up for Game 4.
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Glasnow → line → Game
As of now, the team hasn’t publicly settled on any final decisions.
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team → settle → decisions
And, regardless of how they line things up, they’ll feel good about the state of their starters.
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they → line → starters
As Freddie Freeman noted, “We have four No. 1 starters.”
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We → note → starters
Smith’s neck injury lasted longer than expected this summer.
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injury → last → ?
It also took him a minute to rediscover his swing.
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It → take → swing
After returning from the injured list at the start of September, Smith initially endured a 6-for-35 slump in his first 13 games back.
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Smith → return → games
This week, however, the three-time All-Star turned a corner.
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Star → turn → corner
In his last six games, Smith has gone 8-for-20 with three home runs, five RBIs and a .520 on-base-percentage.
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Smith → go → base
It was vintage form from the 31-year-old, combining consistent power with supreme plate discipline.
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It → combine → discipline
That’s no small development for the Dodgers, who will be counting on Smith to not only lead their pitching staff from behind the plate throughout the postseason, but also provide production at the plate from his spot in the middle of the lineup.
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who → ’ → lineup
After all, for all the star power the team boasts at the top of its lineup in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman, it will be up to others like Smith, Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages to help manufacture runs behind them.
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it → boast → them
At long last, Smith is looking capable of doing so again.
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Smith → look → ?
Four outings were all it took for Díaz to change his October outlook so drastically, after he finally looked like his typically dominant self in his return from a second stint on the injured list this year.
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he → take → list
Díaz credited the improvement to a mechanical tweak he made during a minor-league rehab assignment.
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he → credit → assignment
His ability to overcome a season of adversity –– which included him losing his job as the team’s closer –– also impressed club officials.
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him → overcome → officials
“I think having a lot of time in the league helped me a lot on that,” the 10-year veteran said.
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veteran → think → that
“If I was a young guy, maybe I’d overthink.
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I → overthink → ?
But I’ve been in the league for so long and I know how to make the adjustment.
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I → know → adjustment
I think my time in the league helped me a lot just to come back and do my job.
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time → think → job
It still seems like a stretch, of course, for Díaz to begin the playoffs back in a cemented closer’s role.
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Díaz → seem → role
For as good as he was this past week, he still has a 9.72 ERA in his injury-plagued debut season with the team.
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he → have → team
At the very least, though, the right-hander has re-emerged as a trustworthy option in the Dodgers’ bullpen, contributing to a late-season surge from that unit as a whole.
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hander → re → whole
And who knows, if he keeps pitching this way over the final weekend of the regular season, and in whatever role he is handed to begin October, maybe there could be a point this postseason where he is summoned to close a game out in the ninth.
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he → know → ninth
“It’s certainly possible,” manager Dave Roberts said this week.
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Roberts → ’ → ?
That alone marks a stark change from where Díaz was just seven days ago.
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Díaz → mark → change
A week before the beginning of the Dodgers’ postseason trek, their triple-A affiliate achieved some minor-league playoff glory.
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affiliate → achieve → glory
On Thursday night, the Oklahoma City Comets won the Pacific Coast League pennant, coming back from a game down in a best-of-three series against the Athletics’ triple-A club to win their second PCL title in the last four years.
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Comets → win → years
This season’s team was led by highly-touted outfield prospect James Tibbs III, who hit .287 with 30 home runs, 107 RBIs and a .941 OPS.
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who → lead → runs
This week, the team was also bolstered by fellow top prospect Josue De Paula, who joined up with OKC for his triple-A debut after being optioned by the Dodgers (who had previously called him up straight from double-A) and reached base four times in their back-to-back Games 2 and 3 wins.
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who → bolster → wins
That included an RBI double in Thursday’s series-clincher, further boosting his chances of returning to the Dodgers’ roster for the start of their postseason.
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That → include → postseason
OKC, meanwhile, will now advance to the Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday, where they will face the Washington Nationals’ farm club, the Rochester Red Wings.
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they → advance → club
The Aporia
