No team has repeated in a quarter century. Are the Dodgers different?

WHEN THE LOW constituent arrived past year, connected Sept. 15 successful Atlanta, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts broke quality and challenged immoderate of his players successful a gathering galore of them aboriginal identified arsenic a fulcrum successful their title run.

This year, helium attempted to onslaught a much affirmative tone.

It was Sept. 6. The Dodgers had conscionable been walked disconnected successful Baltimore, instantly aft being swept successful Pittsburgh, and though they were inactive 15 games supra .500, a consciousness of uneasiness lingered. Their part pb was slim, consistency remained elusive and spirits were noticeably down. Roberts saw an accidental to instrumentality stock.

"He was talking to america astir the value of what was successful beforehand of us," Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said successful Spanish. "At that time, determination were similar seven, 8 weeks near due to the fact that we lone had 3 weeks near successful the regular season, and helium wanted each of us, collectively, to deliberation astir what we were inactive susceptible of doing, and the accidental we inactive had to triumph different championship."

Later that night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got wrong an retired of no-hitting the Baltimore Orioles, past helium surrendered a location tally to Jackson Holliday and watched the bullpen implode aft his exit, allowing 3 further runs successful what became the Dodgers' astir demoralizing nonaccomplishment of the season. The adjacent morning, though, euphony blared wrong Camden Yards' visiting clubhouse. Players were upbeat, vibes were positive.

The Dodgers won down an effectual Clayton Kershaw aboriginal that afternoon, past reeled disconnected 16 wins implicit their adjacent 21 games -- including back-to-back emphatic victories implicit the Cincinnati Reds successful the archetypal circular of the playoffs.

It took a day, but Roberts' connection had seemingly landed.

"We needed immoderate positivity," Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said, "to region each of the negativity that we were feeling successful that moment."

As they attack a highly anticipated National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers erstwhile again look similar 1 of the deepest, astir fearsome teams successful the sport.

But if the travel present was arduous.

A Dodgers squad galore outsiders pegged arsenic a campaigner to interruption the regular-season-wins grounds of 116 yet won lone 93, its fewest full successful 7 years. Defending a championship, a task nary squad has successfully pulled disconnected successful a quarter-century, has proven to beryllium a batch much hard than galore Dodger players anticipated. But they've maintained a content that their champion selves would get erstwhile it mattered most. And whether it's a merchandise of health, focus, oregon due to the fact that the close connection deed them astatine the close time, they judge it's present now.

"We're coming unneurotic astatine the close time," Dodgers 3rd baseman Max Muncy said amid a champagne-soaked solemnisation Wednesday night, "and that's each that truly matters."

BUSTER POSEY'S San Francisco Giants became the astir ascendant squad successful the archetypal fractional of the 2010s, during which they captured 3 championships. They won each different twelvemonth -- connected adjacent years, famously -- but could not propulsion disconnected the repetition the Dodgers are chasing. To this day, Posey, present the G...