The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, ending the team’s longer postseason run than anticipated.

Their starting pitching, which lasted just 4.2 innings total over the course of the three games and gave up 13 runs—six of which came from Clayton Kershaw in the series opener before Lance Lynn recorded an out and four home runs allowed in Game 3—was the main cause of their downfall.

Their offense, on the other hand, was a disappointment as well; they struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, scoring only two runs per game.

Kiké Hernández made the most of his opportunity despite only starting one game, but instead of blaming the pitching for the NLDS loss, he stated on Foul Territory:

Naturally, everyone discusses the pitching and claims that it was the reason we lost, that it wasn’t there, and other such things. We scored three games with six runs, bro. We ended each game with two runs scored. That is not how you win in the playoffs. It goes without saying that the team with the most runs wins the game, but if you score two runs in each game and act as though you should win the series, you are deluding yourself. Essentially, it was a matter of wasting at-bats and failing to score runs when there were runners in position.

Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations for the Dodgers, echoed that opinion. “It was an unexpected offense, so I believe that was our main problem,” he stated.

“We would have won at least one of those two games with our offense if you had said that your pitching staff would have given up four runs in Games 2 and 3.” It was therefore a mixture.

In 2023, the Dodgers’ offense proved to be a strength for the team, as they scored over 900 runs for the first time in the history of the Los Angeles franchise. However, when the playoffs arrived, the offense collapsed, particularly with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman combining to go a combined 1-for-21.

But the pitching and the offense both deserve some of the responsibility. Every game, the pitching put the offense in a hole, forcing them to press and leading to an overall collapse.

The Dodgers should prioritize starting pitchers.According to Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes, the team’s biggest priority this offseason is acquiring one or more starting pitchers through free agency and/or trade. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Glasnow are some of the best targets that are now available.

Aaron Nola declined an offer from the Dodgers to play in Los Angeles.