![\"Nine](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/97ef396\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4500x3000+0+0\/resize\/2400x1600!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa4%2F1a%2F31610d3348e6b715aba74ab4db77%2Fv3-dodgers-phillies.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Now comes the hard part.<\/p>\n
The Cincinnati Reds were just a glimpse of what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n
The wild-card series was a warm-up compared with the full house waiting ahead.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers easily swept the best-of-three with the overmatched Reds on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, capping it with an 8-4 win \u2026 just in time to head uneasily into the home of heated hardball.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Phillies await.<\/p>\n
The National League\u2019s most dangerous and determined team is up next.<\/p>\n
Bryce Harper. Kyle Schwarber. That rotation. That closer. That crowd. And that history.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, the Dodgers hosted the Phillies with a chance to sweep them and steal a first-round bye. Instead, they were battered, the bullpen blowing two games. The Phillies finished with the NL\u2019s second-best record and earned that first-round break.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers were penalized with a short wild-card series against Cincinnati. Their reward for sweeping it: a best-of-five division series in Philadelphia, beginning Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.<\/p>\n
A place that drew 27,000 fans this week just to watch a workout.<\/p>\n
If the Dodgers can beat the favored Phillies, their path to a second straight World Series title looks clearer, as no other team has comparable firepower. But in a short series, with Philadelphia\u2019s pitching rested and its injuries mostly healed, can the Dodgers really pull it off? They lost four of six to the Phillies in the regular season, and unlike others, Philadelphia showed no fear.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers insist they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can win it all,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cI think we\u2019re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree. We certainly have the hunger. We\u2019re playing great baseball. And in all honesty, I don\u2019t care who we play. I just want to be the last team standing.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Wednesday\u2019s win was an indication, the Dodgers look primed for the fight.<\/p>\n
Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto worked out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth with a grounder and two strikeouts. He gave up only two unearned runs in 6 2\/3 innings, struck out nine and showed he\u2019s ready for the next step.<\/p>\n
Other October regulars heated up, too. Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez made a running, over-the-shoulder catch in left field and added two hits, two runs and an RBI.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times it felt like we were kind of checked out during the regular season,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cHere we are now and these are the games that really matter. \u2026 I think it was experience and age has a lot to do with it. We have a lot of young guys, but I think we have a very salty team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salty, and streaking. The Dodgers have won 11 of 13. Mookie Betts had three doubles and four RBIs. Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez had a two-run double after a dropped fly ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I know we can win the whole thing,\u201d Betts said. \u201cWe just have to play good baseball. We\u2019ve got to continue to pitch, timely hitting and play defense, and everything should be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Shohei Ohtani singled in a run, lining up to start Game 1 on Saturday in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery talented ballclub,\u201d Roberts said of the Phillies. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a fun environment. I think we match up really well with those guys. They\u2019re going to run a bunch of left-handers at us. Talented, all throughout the lineup. They got Trea (Turner) back. It\u2019s going to be a fun series.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Phillies, in some ways, mirror past Dodgers teams. They\u2019ve been among baseball\u2019s best in recent years but are still seeking a ring after three straight postseason failures. They lost to the Mets in the division series last season, the Diamondbacks in the NLCS two years ago and the Astros in the World Series three years back.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re tired of second-guessing and fed up with October failures. That makes them more dangerous.<\/p>\n
Harper has a 1.016 OPS in 12 postseason series but no ring. Schwarber led the league with 56 homers and 132 RBIs, but with Ohtani around, he won\u2019t be MVP.<\/p>\n
Their short-series rotation – Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, Ranger Su\u00e1rez and Jes\u00fas Luzardo – stacks up with the Dodgers\u2019 top three. And their closer, Jhoan Duran, acquired at the trade deadline along with outfielder Harrison Bader, gives them the shutdown arm the Dodgers never found.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers tried to piece together the late innings Wednesday, handing the eighth to starter Emmet Sheehan in a six-run game. He walked two, gave up two hits and got only one out. He was yanked mid-at-bat with a 1-2 count, and Alex Vesia finished the strikeout amid boos.<\/p>\n
Roki Sasaki, throwing the night\u2019s best heat, closed with two strikeouts as fans chanted, \u201cRo-ki, Ro-ki!\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe he\u2019s the answer. The Dodgers will find out soon enough. Their season is on the line. The reckoning starts in three days. The Phillies are coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work to be done!\u201d Roberts shouted before the team\u2019s subdued champagne celebration. \u201cMy only ask is that every single guy be ready when called upon! Keep your minds right. We\u2019re gonna need every single one of you guys! Stay in it, stay focused, keep playing for each other! Let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n
The work starts now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Now comes the hard part.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":102204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3988,3986,1190,69,1105,3989,1108,638,284,3990,2680,2017,39,424,1109,1110,637,639,49,3991,3839,53,50,3987,3971,211,2470,1192],"class_list":["post-102195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-2022-national-league-wild-card-series","tag-2023-national-league-division-series","tag-ball-and-bat-games","tag-baseball","tag-baseball-competitions","tag-baseball-events","tag-baseball-playoffs-and-champions","tag-baseball-teams","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-enrique-hernndez-baseball","tag-glossary-of-baseball-terms","tag-kyle-schwarber","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-major-league-baseball-competitions","tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","tag-major-league-baseball-seasons","tag-major-league-baseball-teams","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-ranger-surez","tag-run-baseball","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-sports","tag-sports-competitions","tag-strikeout","tag-team-sports","tag-trea-turner","tag-turf-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n