SAN FRANCISCO -- Dave Roberts' squad has been here before. His Los Angeles Dodgers won five straight games last postseason going into the National League Championship Series, but then lost two straight to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.
The Dodgers were able to rebound last year, winning Game 3 and taking the series in seven games before advancing to the World Series. But after facing this Giants team 20 times this year, Roberts knows just how important it is for his team to avoid a two-games-to-none hole before heading home to to LA.
"We understand the job that we have to do," Roberts said Saturday before Game 2 of the NLDS. "We've be there before, so to your earlier point -- yeah, we don't want to go down 0-2. We're going to play this game essentially like a do or die because I think it's really ... it's an important game."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The always laid back Cody Bellinger echoed his manager, while showing plenty of confidence in the Dodgers before they face Kevin Gausman and the Giants.
"In a way, yeah," Bellinger said when asked if Game 2 is a must-win. "I mean, we knew it was going to be tough. And Logan Webb, tip your cap to him yesterday. We have been in this situation before, multiple times, and we just got to go out and take care of our own business.
"I think if we do that, we'll be all right."
The Giants and Dodger played each other 19 teams over six series in the regular season. The Giants won 10 games, the Dodgers won nine. Here's how important the Giants' Game 1 win might have been: Whoever won the first game between these two teams went on to win the series five times this year.
San Francisco Giants
Roberts is putting Chris Taylor, who hit a walk-off two-run homer in the NL Wild Card Game, back in the Dodgers' starting lineup Saturday night, looking to give his offense a much-needed spark. But Taylor hit just .189 against the Giants this season, and Los Angeles struggled trying to hit Gausman's signature splitter in his three regular-season starts against them.
RELATED: Kapler goes with new look in Giants outfield for NLDS Game 2
The Dodgers' manager trusts his team's ability to bounce back, and has no worries regarding the mindset of the reigning World Series champions.
"As far as kind of the morale, it's a very focused group of guys right now," Roberts said.