Check out this article for a complete list of Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series wins, appearances, record, and more.

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Tanner Scott underwent a procedure on his rear end during the NLDS, and was left off the NLCS roster due to the recovery. Manager Dav

It's hard, you know -- repeating as the champions of a sport. This is the case for any athletic pursuit, and it's probably fair to say it's especially difficult in baseball, which has so much structural randomness and a related knack for defying expectations.

Throughout their championship season last year and this year’s run back to the fall classic, the Dodgers have overcome every opponent with a remarkably deep roster of star players. From Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell, the Dodgers have one of the most complete teams in modern baseball history.

The Dodgers have faced a similarly long layoff before. After winning the National League West in 2022 and 2023, they were eliminated by a pair of division rivals (the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively) in their first-round series.

It's not like the offense has been exploding; they're only averaging 4.6 runs per playoff game and scored just 23 runs in the last seven games. The bullpen is still unreliable, even if a few things have clicked, such as Roki Sasaki as the temporary closer. The starting pitching is what carried them to this point, though.

In a closeout opportunity for the defending champions, Shohei Ohtani took the mound for LA and punched out 10 batters across six-plus scoreless innings of work. At the plate, Ohtani went 3-for-3 with three home runs, one of which left Dodger Stadium and traveled 469 feet according to Statcast.

MLB reporter Mark Feinsand reported the Los Angeles Dodgers could make a move on highly coveted international free agent Munetaka Murakami in the offseason, mov