It is finally here – the official 2020 postseason. In a world where people did not even think they would see a baseball season, eight teams will be squaring off this week, vying to make their way to the World Series championship.

Two such teams who have moved beyond the recent Wild Card series are the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will ‘host’ the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series beginning Tuesday at 6:38 pm PT at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. The bast-of-five series will be carried on FoxSports1 and on AM 570 LA Sports.

It has taken a lot to get to this point. Teams had to adjust to a 60-game truncated season for 2020, as well as enhanced security protocols to keep players and their families safe from contracting COVID-19.

A couple of players, outfielder Mookie Betts and right-hander Walker Buehler, along with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, spoke with the media (via Zoom) on Monday afternoon. As Dodger fans know, there has been a lot of banter lately about the Padres 7-2 win over the Dodgers back on September 7 during the final meeting of the regular season between the two division rivals. Although the Dodgers would go on to win the next two games to take the three-game series, that loss was described as a “punch in the mouth” by Betts, who has an uncanny knack for finding exactly the right words at exactly the right time.

“We’re here to play. We’re not going to just keep getting punched in the mouth,” Betts said once again. “We’re gonna come back at you.

“Obviously, this is a new series, and so we have to come out with some energy, ready to go because you know they will,” he added

The four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover, three-time Silver Slugger, 2018 AL MVP, 2018 MLB Player of the Year, 2018 Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year and 2018 World Series champion (i.e., future Hall of Famer) was a acquired by the Dodgers via trade on February 5, 2020, just prior to what was supposed to be a normal Spring Training which, of course, came to an abrupt halt on March 12 due to the coronavirus. On July 22, the now 27-year-old Nashville, TN native and Red Sox fifth-round draft pick in 2011 out of Overton High School in Nashville signed a 12-year / $365 million contract extension that will keep in in Dodger Blue through the 2032 season.

As he always does, Betts kept a level head when responding to questions about how the Dodgers should approach this upcoming NLDS game.

“I think we just have to be the steady selves who we are,” Betts mused. “[The Padres] have a lot of energy, a lot of young guys over there. That’s tough to match. We don’t need to play their game, we need to play ours.”

During his interview on Monday, Buehler fielded the inevitable questions about his on-going blister issue, of which he is undoubtedly tired of the constant vigilance from the media and fans about the status of his right index finger. The 26-year-old Lexington, KY native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University told reporters that he is working off the same routine – keeping an eye on the blister and throwing on the mound as usual.

“I’m just letting [Athletic trainer, Yosuke ‘Possum’ Nakajima] kind of, you know, again lead the charge on that,” Buehler answered, with an undertone of exasperation in his voice. “Just trying to not worry about it too much.”

Asked if he felt that having postseason experience, including World Series experience in 2017 and 2018 gives the Dodgers an advantage heading into the Division Series, Buehler answered calmly and succinctly.

“The team over there is playing well. We’re going to have to play good baseball to win,” said Buehler. “All in all, it’s trying to win three out of five and trying to move forward.”

Each Dodger player will have their own way of locking in during this postseason. As every Dodger fan knows all too well, the Padres won’t go quietly. Both teams play with a lot of passion and intensity. As such, this promises to be an exciting matchup.

With Buehler starting Game-1 on Tuesday, and with Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw on the mound for Game-2 on Wednesday, Dodger fans know that they are in good hands … literally.

Bring on the postseason, and Let’s Go Dodgers!!!

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