Disappointing finish with loads of talent

LOS A NGELES» It’s back to the drawing board — again — for the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose World Series title drought now extends to 31 years.

This time, they didn’t even make it that far.

The Dodgers’ postseason fell apart in the NL division series with a 7-3 defeat to the Washington Nationals in Game 5, an inglorious ending for a team coming off back-to-back World Series appearances.

“This is not anything we were prepared for,” said reliever Joe Kelly, who gave up the tiebreaking grand slam to former Dodger Howie Kendrick in the 10th inning Wednesday night.

Indeed, the Dodgers made no secret that winning a record seventh straight NL West title while piling up 106 victories — secondmost in the majors — was just a prelude to fulfilling their ultimate goal of earning the franchise’s first World Series title since 1988.

“We all knew we were better than what we showed out there,” said Max Muncy, whose two-run homer in the first provided an early lead. “Sometimes it’s not meant to be.”

The Dodgers now have all winter to contemplate what went wrong and how to fix it.

There are offseason decisions looming.

Rookie infielders Matt Beaty and Gavin Lux and catcher Will Smith all made starts this postseason. In his second season, right-hander Walker Buehler continued to show he’s a worthy successor to Clayton Kershaw as the team’s ace.

“We will have a lot more chances at it,” Buehler said of postseason success. “We are built to keep putting ourselves in this situation.”