Dodgers’ banner ’16 falls just short of goal

LOS ANGELES — Until things unraveled in the National League Championship Series loss to the Cubs, the Dodgers under first-year manager Dave Roberts displayed the grit to overcome an eight-game deficit and 32 placements on the disabled list — including ace Clayton Kershaw for 2 1/2 months — to earn a fourth consecutive division title and 90-plus win season.

They blended experience and youth and utilized an ever-changing roster (55 players, 31 of them pitchers). They patched up a decimated starting rotation, although that ultimately doomed them in the NLCS. Their deep bullpen, led by closer Kenley Jansen, set franchise records for innings pitched and appearances, keeping them in games when starters couldn’t, including the epic Game 5 clincher of the NL Division Series in Washington.

“Looking at the number of people that we had to use just to get here was a grind, and that’s what makes you most proud of this ballclub,” said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. “They never quit. They battled no matter the adversity we went through this year. I still can’t say enough about the ‘pen during the course of this season and how they kept us in there. We did a lot of ‘piecing’ this year, and we got to this point. We had a chance and we ran into a club that was better than us.”

With four sluggers — Justin Turner, Yasmani Grandal, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson — hitting at least 25 homers, the Dodgers mounted 46 comeback wins, the most in the NL. Contrary to their self-destructive series against the Cubs, the Dodgers played solid fundamentally this year, ranking third on defense and generally running the bases intelligently, if not aggressively.

“The experience from this postseason will serve our guys really well going forward,” said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “It hurts to say that, but that’s the silver lining. From the postgame embraces, there was a lot of talk about being back next year, and that’s motivation for all of us.”

They will have the Rookie of the Year in shortstop Seager and received 16 wins from another contender, former Japan League star Kenta Maeda, who tailed off into the postseason after being the most durable starter they had.

Roberts bought into management’s analytics-driven game plans and convinced his players to buy in as well, even though platoons all over the place cost valuable playing time. Roberts handled the egos and kept the ship on course.

“Obviously I’m biased, but I would be absolutely shocked if he doesn’t win the Manager of the Year award,” said Friedman.

Although Friedman expects the usual offseason roster turnover, he said the culture will endure.

“There is an organizational DNA that can remain in place and we made large strides this year in creating that,” he said. “It always has to be fostered and nurtured. I’m incredibly proud of the growth and momentum …

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