After watching the San Francisco Giants dominate for virtually all of the first half, the Los Angeles Dodgers are breathing down their necks in the National League West standings.
As of Friday afternoon, the Blues are 54-34, just one game behind the Giants in the West.
Los Angeles has won seven of their last 10 games and are peaking at the right time.
Injuries have hit the Dodgers very hard this season, but their overall depth and their fantastic player development staff have made sure there are always competitive alternatives to plug in the rotation or in the lineup.
Los Angeles has lost Dustin May for the season and Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger for an extended period of time.
Max Muncy also visited the 10-day injured list, and now ace Clayton Kershaw is dealing with forearm issues.
Clayton Kershaw will go for an MRI when they team is back in LA, likely tomorrow, Dave Roberts said. Roberts didn’t express too much immediate concern, but they’ll know more once they got those results back.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 8, 2021
Yet here we are, and the Dodgers are only one game behind their rivals.
Seager is close to returning and will give the lineup a boost.
However, there is always the option of pouncing at the trade deadline, especially if Kershaw’s injury proves serious.
The Dodgers will need to win these crucial series if they want to get a hold of the NL West division and not look back.
3. July 19-22 Vs. San Francisco Giants
The Giants’ lead in the NL West may be down to just one game, but it would be foolish to dismiss them and ignore the fact that they are now a great baseball club.
They managed to resuscitate Buster Posey’s, Evan Longoria’s, and Brandon Crawford’s respective careers, not to mention turn Kevin Gausman into an ace.
San Francisco knows what it’s doing, especially in the player development department.
They have the pieces to make things very hard for the Dodgers and take the race for the division down to the wire.
This four-game set in Los Angeles is very important, as it will be the first between the two teams in the second half.
It will help set the tone for the rest of the campaign, and the winner’s morale will likely be extremely high.
2. July 27-29 At San Francisco Giants
In late July, there will be another showdown between these two rivals, but this time in the Bay Area.
Both teams have to face each other several more times, including in September, but if they can win the early series, they can work to get a large advantage when the last month of the regular season arrives.
That’s why it’s so important for the Dodgers to win this series.
If they drop the first one or if they split it, this one could be the opportunity for redemption.
1. August 24-26 At San Diego Padres
In the quest for the NL West title, we can’t forget about the San Diego Padres.
They are also an elite team, with a 52-38 record, and are just three games behind the Dodgers and 4.5 behind the Giants.
The Padres are perfectly capable of going on a hot streak and surpassing both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
This series will be awfully important, and it could potentially have first-place implications.
Here are Fangraphs projections for the rest of the season.
They project the Dodgers win the Division with 99 wins, the Padres as the 1st WC with 92 wins, and the Giants as the 2nd WC with 90 wins. pic.twitter.com/0zjhvuu80W
— Jim Furlong (@EWOKinLA) July 6, 2021
By this time, the NL West race could potentially be extremely close, and each and every one of these three games will count.
Leave a Reply