By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles Dodgers struggled to explain why their potent offense faltered and their starting pitchers were hammered by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 100-win team was swept out of the best-of-five National League Divisional Series.
The Dodgers fell 4-2 on Wednesday night in a game where, like the two before it, the Diamondbacks jumped all over their starters as their best hitters went cold at the worst possible time.
“If you look at the game and the series, they outplayed us,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game.
“There’s no other spin to it. I tip my hat to those guys and wish them well.
“As far as our clubhouse, it’s just a lot of disappointment. I really just don’t know what to say… the bottom line is the outplayed us in every facet of the game.”
Most shockingly of all, it was Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two former MVPs who had sensational regular seasons, who failed to make an impact on the series, going a combined 1-for-21 at the plate.
“It’s obviously super frustrating, there are no real words for it,” Betts said.
“I can’t speak for all of us but I know I did absolutely nothing to help us win. I thought I prepared the right way but I just did not execute anything.”
Betts and Freeman had a chance to redeem themselves in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s Game Three when the team trailed 4-2 with a runner on first.
Both struck out to Kevin Ginkel and an inning later, the underdog Diamondbacks were celebrating by jumping into the pool over the right field wall at Chase Field.
“It’s hard to put into words, it’s just frustrating,” Freeman said.
“Me and a lot of us didn’t play the way we wanted to. They came out swinging all three games and they beat us.”
While the Dodgers finished the regular season 16 games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West, Arizona has been on a tear this postseason, sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-three series before toppling heavily favored Los Angeles.
“They’re a hot team,” said veteran right hander Lance Lynn, who gave up four solo home runs in the third inning to put the Dodgers in a hole out of which they would not climb.
“They’re in a good rhythm, throwing the ball well, playing good defense. They were just better than us this series.”
The Diamondbacks next take on either the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship series while the Dodgers face a long offseason where they will look to come up with answers.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
