PHOENIX — These skids have happened virtually every year he has managed the Los Angeles Dodgers and although Dave Roberts should be numb to it by now, knowing they’ll ultimately wind up on the other side, it doesn’t make the pain any less tolerable. “I hate it," he tells USA TODAY Sports, “I absolutely hate it. I just wish it didn’t happen at all, but it always does." The Dodgers, who just came off a seven-game losing streak, dropping 15 of 24 games and were 42-42 over six weeks, hope to be coming out of their funk at the right time. EXCLUSIVE: Roberts sounds off on anti-Dodgers hate and LA legacy The begin a four-game series Thursday night at Dodger Stadium against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are once again perched with the best record in the National League – but were swept by the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS. Now, they meet again for the battle for the No. 1 seed, with the Dodgers entering Wednesday night two games behind the Brewers, who also had the best record in MLB last year. Roberts implored his team to wake up Monday before they played the Kansas City Royals, reminding them that if they don’t finish with the top two records in the National League, they’ll be without a first-round bye and forced to play at least two extra postseason games. It happened last year, too, but had no ill effect.
The Dodgers, who lost seven consecutive games last July and went through a 12-24 stretch, were forced to play the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round. Los Angeles swept Cincinnati without breaking a sweat then breezed past the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the NLDS before sweeping the Brewers. Then, the Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games for the World Series title. “I think the thing is that there’s no correlation," Roberts said. “That’s why a lot of people go, 'Oh, you haven’t played well going in the postseason. Does that mean you’re going to play bad?’ No. 'If you play well going into the playoffs, does that mean you’re going to win the World Series?’ Clearly not. “There’s no one way. That’s what’s great about your game. We had the bye and won. We’ve had the bye and lost. We played the wild-card game and won the World Series. So, when hear people debating that, that’s good for the game." The Dodgers had an 8 ½-game lead in August 2024, which was trimmed to two games, but won the division by five. They earned the first-round bye, got past the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, the New York Mets in the NLCS and knocked off the Yankees in five games for their first World Series title in a full season since 1988. Then again, there was a time when the Dodgers wondered if the first-round byes were a detriment in the the expanded wild-card format. They had byes in 2022 and 2023 and were knocked out immediately in the NLDS, to the Padres in 2022 before getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. And, there was the 2017 season when they had a 1-16 meltdown from Aug. 26-Sept. 20, but woke up just in time before the playoffs, and take the Houston Astros to the seventh game of the World Series. “We were zeroing in on the playoffs," Roberts said. “We were playing for the best record and I was like, 'I don’t think we’re going to make it.'" Championships the past two seasons give Roberts plenty of confidence that this year will be no different no matter how they fare down the stretch. “It felt like we would never win another game," Roberts said. “Well, we did win another game. And we won another game ending this seven-game streak, too. “I do think we need to play with some more urgency, but once we do that, we’re going to just fine." Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do Dodgers need MLB playoff bye? Ideal World Series path is hot debate