LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers didn't just fall short of lofty expectations during the regular season. For a large chunk of it, they were basically mediocre. They began with a 23-10 record and ended, after a well-timed meeting by their manager, with 15 wins in a stretch of 20 games. But in between, from May 4 to Sept. 7, the Dodgers were 56-54, a mere two games above .500 in a 110-game sample. Their rotation was hurt, their bullpen was a mess, their lineup was inconsistent, and until the very end, they displayed scant signs of a team equipped to defend a championship.
Now they're a juggernaut.
The Dodgers have steamrolled through this postseason, winning seven of eight and going 4-0 away from home. They breezed past the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round, outscoring them 18-9, then faced a Philadelphia Phillies team widely considered the most talented in this playoff field and dispatched it in four games. They have since taken control of the National League Championship Series with back-to-back road wins over the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Brewers.
Barring the unforeseen — teams that have won the first two road games in a best-of-seven format have prevailed in that series 25 of 28 times — the Dodgers will become the first club since the 2009 Phillies to return to the World Series a year after winning it. Six more wins and the Dodgers will become baseball's first repeat champions in a quarter century. Nothing is guaranteed, but that they're even in this position — with Shohei Ohtani slumping offensively, no less — is remarkable when considering recent circumstances.
The Dodgers were on a 91-win pace as they approached the final week of the regular season. Had that remained the case and had they not ended it on a five-game
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