Dodgers' momentum from last week figures as a non-factor in postseason

Dodgers’ momentum from last week figures as a non-factor in postseason

Justin Turner, left, laughs with Brett Anderson during practice on Tuesday.

By Steve Dilbeck

Oct. 8, 2015 1:58 PM PT

Hopeful are you? All eager to find an advantage for your Boys in Blue in the playoffs?

And here come the struggling Mets, losers of five of their last six games! A team that scored two whole runs in its last four games. All while the Dodgers won five of their last six, including their last four.

Momentum to the Dodgers, right?

Sorry, buckaroo, toss that theory out with your Volkswagen EPA review.

It all begins anew in the postseason. Everything all fresh and clean. There’s something to be said for a wild-card team that had to play at high level just to slip into the postseason and then keeps it rolling.

But for two teams that locked up their divisions over a week ago and haven’t played in five days? Not really a factor.

“It’s one where everything’s thrown out once the playoffs happen,” said Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier. “Momentum becomes not only games, but pitches and outs in the playoffs.

“It’s a little more finite when you have a lot more meaning on each pitch. I think that momentum had a tendency to just swing from inning to inning and at-bat to at-bat during a game.”

Momentum within a series is one thing. Momentum from the regular season heading into the playoffs is another.

Last year the Dodgers won their last five games. Thought they were on a great roll. They stormed into the postseason and were knocked out in four games by the Cardinals.

There’s a momentum carryover into the postseason?

“No, it’ll start on Friday,” said Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly. “We’ll see where that goes. And each game in the postseason is different. Every win is huge. Every loss is huge. You don’t know where it’s going to take you.”

Momentum, such as it is, typically goes to whichever team won the last game, not a game against a different team five days ago.

“We’ve both had days to regroup, have some days off to get things together,” said Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford. “I think it starts from the first game in the playoffs, then you build momentum from there.”

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