LOS ANGELES — With his face skyward, both arms in the air and an index finger raised, Michael Kopech suddenly was unsure where to express his gratitude first.
Kopech had one of the most high-profile roles when the Dodgers clinched the National League West last week. His 91.6-mph cutter forced the San Diego Padres’ Kyle Higashioka into a pop-up and when the ball came down into Chris Taylor’s glove, it touched off a celebration for the Dodgers’ 11th division title in the past 12 seasons.
Kopech not only has gone from a historically bad Chicago White Sox team to a top World Series contender with the Dodgers, he was trusted to get the last out in a division clincher. It was more evidence of his wild two-month ride so far, which will continue when the Dodgers host the Padres in Game 1 of a best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday night.
“All I have wanted in my whole career is to win,” Kopech said, his long hair and beard drenched as champagne flew all around him in during the postgame clubhouse celebration last Thursday night. “I have had a chance to do that a couple of times but not in the way this team has done it, not with these type of guys, not with this type of talent, not with this type of (coaching) staff just supporting me from Day 1.
“Nothing against where I came from before, but this is a special place and I think everybody (represents) that. I’m just happy to be here.”
While injury issues created an imperfect journey for the Dodgers this season, Kopech’s 2024 path has been downright implausible.
The White Sox were 27-82 when Kopech was traded on July 29. His former club already was guaranteed to finish under .500 and there were still two months remaining in the regular season. The White Sox went on to lose a modern-day record 121 games.
The deal that altered Kopech’s route, also has been a boon to the Dodgers. Not only did the club gain a trusted late-inning arm in the trade, the three-team swap also brought center fielder/shortstop Tommy Edman to L.A.
Yet Kopech, 28, was not exactly a flower thriving in a barren landscape. He had a 4.74 ERA in 43 relief appearances for the White Sox and had only just started to emerge from a downturn where he had a 9.00 ERA and four blown saves in 17 appearances.
With the Dodgers, Kopech is 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA and has converted all six of his save opportunities, recording 29 strikeouts and 10 walks in 24 innings.
While the Dodgers have avoided naming an official closer in recent seasons, Kopech enters the playoffs for just the second time in his career as the closest thing to a primary ninth-inning performer for Manager Dave Roberts.
And while he might not be the official closer, he is far from unsure of where he stands.
“It’s more knowing lanes and what hitters you match up against and what hitters Doc thinks it will be best for you to face,” Kopech said of Roberts.
Because of some significant reverse splits, about the best Kopech can predict is that he will be pointed toward the ninth inning if an opponent is set to send some left-handed bats to the plate.
This season, Kopech has held left-handed hitters to a .153 batting average and a .541 OPS with 55 strikeouts in 118 at-bats, while right-handed hitters are batting .224 against him with a .699 OPS and 33 strikeouts in 116 at-bats.
“It’s just about being flexible, so to speak, and just do what I need to do,” said Kopech, whose fastball averages 98.7 mph and reaches 102 mph.
Kopech insists the Dodgers’ bullpen – which covered 648 innings (the fifth-highest total in MLB) this season – is in a good place now. After missing nearly two full seasons because of a shoulder issue that led to surgery, right-hander Blake Treinen appears as effective as ever with a 1.93 ERA in 50 appearances. Alex Vesia is much improved from his 2023 struggles and Anthony Banda has been a key complement to Vesia from the left side.
Evan Phillips has been fighting inconsistency and Joe Kelly is in the midst of mechanical adjustments in order to find his old form, but putting an effective bullpen together come playoff time has been one of the Dodgers’ strengths.
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Even during last year’s early playoff meltdown, the Dodgers’ bullpen had a 2.53 ERA in three games. In the 2024 regular season, Dodgers relievers had a 3.53 ERA, the third best in the National League and fourth best in baseball.
“You’ve seen it throughout the history of the past decade of Dodgers bullpens, right?” Kelly said. “They might say, ‘Oh, we don’t know if we have enough arms.’ But you go into the playoffs, and it’s usually the part of the team that has the most success, if you look at the track record of the past decade.”
Kopech has not been around for long, but that concept seems clear.
“We’re in a good spot,” Kopech said. “And the thing that is really cool is I think we feed off each other. … I’ve just seen that time and time again since I’ve been here and it’s pretty cool, us being able to feed off each other’s energy. We’re taking that into the postseason.”
NLDS SCHEDULE
Best-of-five
Game 1: Padres at Dodgers, Saturday, 5:38 p.m., FS1
Game 2: Padres at Dodgers, Sunday, 5:03 p.m., FS1
Game 3: Dodgers at Padres, Tuesday, TBA
x-Game 4: Dodgers at Padres, Wednesday, TBA
x-Game 5: Padres at Dodgers, Friday (Oct. 11), TBA
x – if necessary
