These unsung heroes aren't getting enough credit for their role in the Dodgers' World Series win

The Los Angeles Dodgers' biggest question going into the postseason was their pitching. With only three healthy starters, the team knew they would be forced into bullpen games. What they did not know was just how pivotal of a role that bullpen would play in securing the World Series victory.

Without the bullpen's dominant performance, there was no path to victory for the Dodgers. The bullpen, which refers to itself as the "Dawgs," came up big in key moments, both during planned bullpen games and in situations where they needed to bail out their starters.

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The bullpen was the Dodgers postseason-long MVP

There is no questioning that Freddie Freeman's heroics in the World Series and Tommy Edman's stellar performance in the NLCS earned them their respective MVP honors, but when looking at the Dodgers entire postseason, the bullpen was the difference-maker throughout.

With the Dodgers facing elimination and out of healthy starters going into Game 4 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, the bullpen cruised en route to an 8-0 victory. Eight different pitchers combined to strike out eight batters while allowing just seven hits and two walks.

The Dodgers eventually punched their ticket to the World Series with a bullpen Game 6 against the New York Mets in the NLCS. Despite it being their second bullpen game of the series, their high-leverage arms were rested and ready to lead LA to a 10-5 victory thanks to the work of an unsung hero in their bullpen the game prior.

Brent Honeywell basically agreed to be the Dodgers punching bag. When Game 5 of the NLCS was out of reach, he pitched 4.2 innings to "save the Dawgs" for Game 6, earning the respect of his teammates.

Max Muncy credited Honeywell's Game 5 performance for the Dodgers Game 6 win saying, "Our whole bullpen [are] Dawgs, but this guy, put him in any position, you need two outs? He's got you. You need three innings? He's got you."

The Dodgers bullpen provided World Series heroics, with a little help

By the World Series, the bullpen was understandably exhausted. Describing a Dodger reliever as "rested" became relative, but that did not stop the Dawgs from digging deep a few more times against the Yankees.

The starters game up big during Games 1, 2, & 3 as the Dodgers took a commanding 3-0 series lead. For the first time all playoffs, the bullpen had a bit of breathing room going into Game 4. This is where strategic management came in. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the controversial decision to rest the Dodgers high-leverage relievers after the Yankees took the lead in the third inning.

When Jack Flaherty exited Game 5 after allowing four runs in just 1.1 innings pitched, the Dodgers unexpectedly found themselves in another bullpen game. Despite being down, Roberts did not punt the game and played his now semi-rested high leverage pitchers, believing that a comeback was possible.

It worked. Six relievers shut down the Yankees allowing just two runs and four hits through seven innings. The Dodgers offense took advantage of a Yankees defensive collapse and scored five runs in the fifth inning, then secured the tying and go-ahead runs via sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts to make the score 7-6 going into the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Dodgers were out of high leverage arms and Blake Treinen had already pitched 1.1 innings. He got the first out, but quickly gave up a Double to Aaron Judge and walked Jazz Chisholm Jr. Roberts came out for what has already become a legendary mound visit that slowed the game down enough to re-ignite Treinen's confidence.

Treinen stayed in and finished off the eighth by getting Giancarlo Stanton to flyout and striking out Anthony Rizzo to cap off an exhilarating 42 pitch performance.

With no one else to close out the bottom of the ninth, Dave Roberts turned to starter Walker Buehler to honor the time-old tradition of starters coming out of the bullpen to close the World Series. On just one day of rest and still coming off his second Tommy John surgery, Buehler got the job done in an efficient 1-2-3 inning, propelling the Dodgers to their eighth World Series championship.

After a postseason of the bullpen rescuing the injured and inconsistent starting rotation, a starter came in and backed up a remarkable bullpen performance. Roberts worked some management magic to get everything out of every single guy in the Dodgers bullpen and it paid off big time.

With how the entire postseason went, it was poetic to see the Dodgers win it all in what became a bullpen game, because without several clutch bullpen performances, winning it all would never have been possible.