Four times last year, the Dodgers saw Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly in the regular season.
On almost every occasion, they had their way with the veteran right-hander.
That was why, despite all the roster issues the team faced entering last postseason, the Dodgers still had optimism in the National League Division Series. After all, they were facing Kelly in Game 1. They had won all four meetings against him earlier that season. And they were confident that, despite their pitching problems, their lineup’s production could compensate at the plate.
But then, Kelly adapted, pitching the Dodgers much differently than he had in the past.
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Instead of leaning on his signature changeup, he bullied hitters with cutters and fastballs. He dealt the Dodgers an unexpected game plan, then cruised through six shutout innings when they failed to effectively react.
This has been a common theme of the Dodgers’ recent postseason failings, when high-powered lineups have sputtered in surprise playoff eliminations.
Too often, the club seemingly struggles to adjust to well-crafted (and sometimes unpredictable) opposing October pitching plans — a characterization even manager Dave Roberts didn’t outright dispute Wednesday, three days before this year’s postseason opener Saturday against the San Diego Padres.
“You have to be able to read and react,” Roberts said. “You have to be in the moment and make adjustments to what they’re trying to do.”
And why, come the playoffs, haven’t the Dodgers done so more consistently?
“I don’t know the answer,” he said. “I do think that we were slow moving.”
Last year, Kelly epitomized that dilemma, spearheading a three-game sweep in which the Dodgers were constantly challenged with fastballs from Diamondbacks pitchers — who were afforded such leeway while playing with big leads throughout the NLDS — without ever managing to consistently punish them.
“You can see we were getting beat with the fastball,” Roberts said, “and we didn’t make that adjustment.”
Go back to 2022, when the Dodgers and Padres last met in the postseason, and some rival evaluators…