Facing a third straight postseason that will begin with a five-day bye week — and still reeling from the early eliminations that followed the first two the last couple of years — the Dodgers did change some things up in recent days, ahead of their Saturday opener in the best-of-five National League Division Series.
As opposed to the past two years, when they played full scrimmages on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the NLDS — having gotten a bye through MLB’s opening wild card round as a top-two seed in the NL bracket — the team opted for a more “gradual build-up” this time, according to general manager Brandon Gomes, waiting to ramp up to full-game action until closer to Saturday’s Game 1 at Dodger Stadium.