LA Dodgers fans agonize over team's elimination from postseason as San Diego Padres advance to NLCS: "111 wins just to lose to the little brothers", "Choke artists every single year"

The LA Dodgers, despite winning 111 regular-season games, were eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series. The Dodgers fell to the Padres 5-3 in front of a raucous crowd at Petco Park on Saturday and, in turn, got eliminated in the NLDS with a 3-1 series result.

The LA Dodgers became the second team during the day with more than 100 wins in the regular season and a World Series championship in the past three years to be eliminated.

The other was the defending champion Atlanta Braves, who were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies. All the 100-win NL teams are now out of the playoffs.

Needless to say, Dodgers fans lamented the team's loss and subsequent elimination.

The Dodgers offense was massively overwhelming, especially down the stretch. The team had an early 2-0 lead, which they pushed to three in the seventh inning courtesy of Will Smith's sac fly.

In the succeeding half inning, the Padres rallied for five runs that were ignited by Austin Nola's RBI single. Jake Cronenworth rounded up the inning with a two-run single to claim the lead for the Padres.

LA Dodgers fans will have some questions about the players and the team's management this upcoming offseason.

Club boss Dave Roberts, who started his coaching and managerial career with the San Diego Padres, will be in the hotseat once more. The Dodgers have had a superteam for a good portion of the last decade but have only won one World Series title, in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

LA Dodgers' inability to perform under pressure is a cause for concern

Once again, the LA Dodgers failed to deliver with runners in scoring position. The team broke its 0 for 19 cold spell when Freddie Freeman scored a two-run double in the third. The team, however, went 2 for 9 in the RISP category against the Padres' 4 for 9.

It is unclear whether the team will remain intact for next year or if some of their stars, most notably Trea Turner, will return their talents somewhere else.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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