Cody Snavely
It is no secret that the Dodgers have had a brutal month of June, having a record of 9-11 in 20 games and dropping from 1st place in the NL West to 4th place in a matter of days due to the red-hot Diamondbacks and Giants. However, despite all that, they remain only 3.0 games back and hold a 3.0-game lead on the last Wild Card spot. A favorable schedule that can get them back on track is a bright spot for the Dodgers as we wind down to the final stretch of games before the end of the 1st half.
The Dodgers start their six-game road stretch against arguably two of the worst teams in the majors this year, the Rockies and Royals. While these next three games are played in Coors, and we Dodgers fans know how that can go, LA needs to beat the below .500 teams and take advantage of the Diamondback’s harsh week as they play the MLB-leading Rays and the Angels, who are currently also battling for a Wild Card spot.
After the six-game stretch against the Rockies and Royals, the Dodgers return home for their final two series of the first half of the 2023 regular season as they host the Pirates and the Angels for the final set of the Freeway series. The Dodgers had a mini-sweep of the Angels last week, beating superstar Shohei Ohtani in the process. The Dodgers can quickly turn around their month of June and roll into the 2nd half with a respectable record and could if all things go their way, end up back in first place or tied in the NL West.
With the Giants and Diamondbacks playing as they are and the Padres, who will eventually figure it out, the Dodgers need to take advantage of stretches of games as they have now if they want to win the NL West. A bright spot for LA is that they have the 5th easiest schedule for the 2nd half.
