Dodgers open series against Padres eager to ‘move forward’ from playoff failure

Dodgers infielder Max Muncy walks on the field in the rain during the eighth inning in Game 4 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres on Oct. 15. The first time the Dodgers manager watched the viral video of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s news conference answer about the nature of “failure” last week — when the Milwaukee Bucks star considered the meaning of the word in the wake of his team’s shocking first-round postseason elimination — Roberts couldn’t help but relate. “People that are gonna say it was a failure, they haven’t gone through what we’re going through,” Roberts said this week, ahead of the Dodgers’ first rematch with the Padres since last year’s NLDS. “Ultimately, the goal is to win, so if you didn’t accomplish that, that’s a failure,” third baseman Max Muncy said. So I understand both sides of that.” When reflecting on last year’s NLDS specifically, Muncy’s biggest regret had less to do with the opponent, and more about “how we lost” the best-of-five series in four games, “having the other team play with more energy, almost like they were hungrier for it than we were,” he said.