The Dodgers have been here before—several times in fact. They’ve made the postseason in eight consecutive years and have now advanced to the NLCS five times following their sweep of the Padres on Thursday. So you can forgive Justin Turner if he didn’t treat the victory—in which he set a new franchise record with his 64th career postseason hit—as some grand accomplishment at the postgame media conference.
“Records are cool, championships are better.”
Five times in the past eight years, the team has made it this far, only to fall short of the title. The comparison to the Braves’ run of the 1990s and early 2000s is apt, except for the fact that the Braves actually won a title in 1995.