LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ hitters, many of them seated on the floor, some with their backs to a wall in a room behind their dugout, listened to their coaching staff tell them two hours before Game 1 of the National League Division Series how to beat the Atlanta Braves. The main thrust of the information could have been said on any day of the Dodgers’ season: control the strike zone.
“We talk about it on a daily basis,” third baseman Justin Turner said. “It’s something we take pride in—swinging at strikes and taking balls.”
“Around here if you’re chasing, chasing, chasing,” second baseman Kiké Hernández said, “you’re going to be the only one.