LOS ANGELES _ They changed the manager. They changed the culture. They changed the composition of the starting rotation, the philosophy of the bullpen and the mindset of the lineup.
And yet here they are, toes hanging over the precipice of another early winter. The Dodgers found themselves one defeat away from a first-round playoff exit for the third year in a row after an 8-3 loss to Washington in Game 3 of the National League division series.
"We're not afraid of this," manager Dave Roberts said. "It's been a long season, a lot of highs and lows. But I know there's no quit in our guys."
Fear is not the issue. Execution is.
Down 2-1 after three games, the rotation remains unreliable. The lineup consists of Justin Turner, Corey Seager and an assortment of men merely carrying bats to the plate. After a stunning, two-run pinch-hit homer by Carlos Ruiz pulled the team within a run on Monday, the offense could not advance a runner to second base.
The Dodgers elected to wait until Tuesday morning to announce the starter for Game 4. The choice appears to be either Clayton Kershaw on three days of rest or 20-year-old rookie Julio Urias. As the club debated the decision, they appeared to be kicking around three scenarios for the potential Game 5: Kershaw, Urias or perhaps even Rich Hill on short rest with Urias backing him up.
"You know I can't say anything until Doc says anything," Kershaw said as he walked out of the clubhouse.
Roberts may have no other choice besides Kershaw. He exhausted his bullpen on Monday as the first postseason start of Kenta Maeda's career veered close to a catastrophe. Maeda lasted only three innings and surrendered four runs.
To salt the wound, closer Kenley Jansen combusted in the ninth. Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth unleashed a titanic solo homer. Three more runs scored after Josh Reddick dropped a flyball at the wall in right field. The deluge emptied Dodger Stadium.
"You can't worry about what's happened in the last two days," Jansen said. "We've got to flip the script."
The team landed in Los Angeles around 11 p.m. on Sunday. The players trickled into the ballpark less than 12 hours later. The quick turnaround, wrought by Saturday's rainout on a night without rain and a broadcast schedule tilted toward showing the Cubs in primetime, meant both teams suffered.
On the mound for Washington stood the sort of nemesis who has befuddled the Dodgers all season. His ability mattered little. Gio Gonzalez throws with his left hand, which makes him the type of pitcher capable of defusing this lineup.
Gonzalez will never be confused with an ace. He posted a 4.57 earned-run average for the season, and a 5.17 ERA in the final two months. The offense took a small bite in the first. Turner walked and Seager walloped a double on the first pitch for his third-consecutive first-inning RBI in this series.
Maeda could not hold the lead for long. In the third, he allowed a leadoff single to speedy rookie Trea Turner. Werth stroked a run-scoring double. Fellow outfielder Bryce Harper cracked a changeup into right for a go-ahead RBI single.
The inning only got worse when third baseman Anthony Rendon came up. Maeda tried to spot strikes on the outside corner, disinclined to challenge Rendon inside. But he could not command his fastball. A 91-mph heater straightened over the heart of the plate. Rendon parked it deep in the left-field bleachers for a two-run homer.
"I'm really upset that I pitched like this," Maeda said.
With the Dodgers down three, the ballpark rocked itself to sleep. The crowd stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth, when Ruiz stepped to the plate after a single by Joc Pederson. The Dodgers acquired Ruiz in August to improve the offense against left-handed pitching, but elected to start Yasmani Grandal on Monday because of his history with Maeda.
Ruiz is not known for his power. Gonzalez might disagree. He fell behind, 3-1, and pumped a fastball over the middle. Ruiz crushed it over the fence in left.
The homer removed Gonzalez from the game. Under most circumstances, exposing a team's middle relievers to extended duty bodes well for the opposing offense. But the Dodgers could not solve left-hander Sammy Solis, who threw two scoreless innings in Game 1. Solis collected five outs to mollify the Dodgers.
"They've been tough on us all series," Seager said. "We haven't gotten to them yet."
The hours are drawing thin. Unable to feast on the middle relievers, the Dodgers experienced an eight-out famine against set-up man Shawn Kelley and closer Mark Melancon. And by the time Melancon arrived, Jansen had already immolated.
The tension disappeared. Plenty of fans did, too. This season, marked for so many months by resilience, may last only one more day.
