NBA legend Magic Johnson shares disappointment over Dodgers’ embarrassing NLDS exit: "[We] didn’t hit or pitch well"
NBA legend and minority co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Magic Johnson was feeling the pain after his beloved team got swept in the NLDS by the Arizona Diamondbacks in humiliating fashion.
The Dodgers have turned into a regular season juggernaut over the past decade, but that hasn’t always translated into postseason success. The NL West champions won 100 games this season.
The D’backs, on the other hand, won only 84 in comparison - the lowest out of any playoff team this year. They entered the Wild Card series on a four-game losing streak.
That’s the beauty of postseason ball, the sheer unpredictability of it. The D-backs swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLWCS, before going on to sweep the Dodgers in the NLCS.
The outcome of the series was never in doubt, with the D’backs outscoring the Dodgers 19-6. The Dodgers bats went cold and the pitching, simply disastrous. Magic Johnson summed it all up on his latest post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Some might say that's an obvious take, but that's precisely what happened.
Magic Johnson was optimistic despite Dodgers’ blowout loss in NLDS opener
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ NLDS adventure got off to the worst start one could have imagined. An 11-2 drubbing at the hands of the high-flying Diamondbacks, a result that no one saw coming.
Magic Johnson, however, chose to remain optimistic. He cited the blowout loss that his Los Angeles Lakers suffered to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals, and how they managed to overcome that result.
Unfortunately, Magic’s optimism didn’t eventually translate into a result for his beloved Dodgers.
Clayton Kershaw had one of the worst outings of his career in Game 1, allowing six runs in the first inning itself before he was taken off. However, he is not the only reason that the Dodgers are out.
They had ample opportunities to make things right in Games 2 and 3. However, the bats remained silent. The collective performance was abysmal.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who have often been the catalyst of a usually potent Dodgers offense, did nothing to inspire any hope of a comeback.
The former MVPs were held almost hitless, combining for a meager 1-21 at the plate while failing to reach base in the final 17 innings.