"This isn't a series, it's calisthenics. The Dodgers shouldn't be here battling baseball's junior varsity, and they know it, and they're intent on pounding and pitching their way out of this embarrassing situation as quickly as possible. Wild card round? The defending champions are nobody's wild card. The Cincinnati Reds? Human byes. October came a day early to Chavez Ravine Tuesday and the shouldn't-be-here Dodgers welcomed it"
"The Dodgers finished 10 games ahead of the Reds in the standings, and won five out of six during the regular season, and only got lumped with the pretenders when their bullpen fell apart and they blew a chance at having the week off. If the Dodgers had taken care of business they would have finished with one of the two best records in the National League and would have drawn a first-round bye as they did the previous three seasons."
Dodgers tied a club postseason record with five homers and beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 in the wild-card opener, asserting clear superiority. Los Angeles had finished 10 games ahead of Cincinnati and won five of six regular-season meetings, but bullpen failures cost a hoped-for first-round bye. The Dodgers claimed the NL West for the 12th time in 13 years yet entered a three-game wild-card round at home. With ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled for Game 2, a series sweep seems likely. The Mets' late stumble allowed the Reds into the playoffs, but the Reds appear overmatched.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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