No team has repeated in a quarter century. Are the Dodgers different?

""He was talking to us about the importance of what was in front of us," Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said in Spanish. "At that time, there were like seven, eight weeks left because we only had three weeks left in the regular season, and he wanted all of us, collectively, to think about what we were still capable of doing, and the opportunity we still had to win another championship.""

"Later that night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got within an out of no-hitting the Baltimore Orioles, then he surrendered a home run to Jackson Holliday and watched the bullpen implode after his exit, allowing three additional runs in what became the Dodgers' most demoralizing loss of the season. The next morning, though, music blared inside Camden Yards' visiting clubhouse. Players were upbeat, vibes were positive."

Dave Roberts shifted to a more positive tone on Sept. 6 after a walk-off loss in Baltimore and a sweep in Pittsburgh left the Dodgers uneasy despite a 15-game cushion. He urged players to focus on the opportunities ahead and on what they could still achieve. Yoshinobu Yamamoto nearly no-hit the Orioles but surrendered a homer and the bullpen allowed additional runs in a demoralizing loss; the next morning the clubhouse atmosphere was upbeat. Clayton Kershaw delivered an effective start that afternoon, and the team won 16 of 21 games, including back-to-back playoff victories over the Reds.

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