The players’ voices were still hoarse. The clubhouse carpet was still sticky.
But, less than 24 hours after a booze-soaked National League Division Series celebration Friday night, the Dodgers were back at Chavez Ravine on Saturday, shifting their focus to Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets on Sunday night.
“We’ve got to play good baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Come with the same intensity, focus and energy that we had this last series.”
Like their opening-round series against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers’ biggest questions for the best-of-seven NLCS revolve around the pitching staff.
And to that end, Saturday brought some bad news.
Top left-handed reliever Alex Vesia is “highly unlikely” to be on the NLCS roster, Roberts said, after suffering an intercostal injury in Game 5 on Friday.
That development was coupled with the reality that the Dodgers won’t be able to ride their bullpen as hard in a seven-game series as they did in the five-game NLDS.
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