Steve Webb
Road trip to end against familiar foes
LOS ANGELES — The last two weeks have gone about as well as the Dodgers could have hoped for. Two weeks ago, the Dodgers were staring down the barrel of two potentially tough series against playoff hopefuls St. Louis and San Diego while the first place Giants played the lesser Rockies and Cubs. The goal for that week was to just not lose too much ground by the end of the week. They went 4-2, but still lost a game and a half to San Francisco. Not great, but about as good as could be expected.
Good week brings us back to square one
So the Dodgers woke up Monday morning down 2.5 games in the standings. It was put-up or shut-up time. Luckily, the Dodgers started things off with a sweep of the Diamondbacks, and while there was a little hiccup on Friday night in Cincinnati, the Dodgers came back to win the series, finishing the week at 5-1.
Meanwhile, the Giants split a four-gamer with the Padres and won two of three from the Braves for a week of 4-3. That was good for a gain of a game and a half on the Giants. So, we go into the final two weeks of the season exactly where we were two weeks ago when we left San Francisco. One game behind the Giants. Exactly where these two teams have been most of the summer.
Now things get interesting…
However, all things considered, holding serve through this part of the schedule is a pretty huge accomplishment. It would have been nice to be in first place by now, but realistically it wasn’t going to be in the cards when you’re trying to catch a team as talented as the Giants. Both teams have an off day on Monday, and then square off on the road against divisional foes all week. The Dodgers visit Colorado and Arizona, whereas the Giants go into San Diego to face the Padres and then head to Denver to take on the Rockies as well.
Advantage Dodgers? Maybe…
Normally, I would say that this draw favors the Dodgers. The team faces two teams that they have pretty much owned all year while San Francisco has to face the Padres, a team still in contention for a Wild Card. After all, the Dodgers are 11-5 against the Rockies this season and 14-2 versus the Diamondbacks. On the other hand, the 14-2 against the Rockies, but only 7-6 against the Padres.
However, the question is, what Padres team is going to show up at Petco Park on Tuesday. After their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad weekend against the Cardinals, the Padres are all but eliminated from the Wild Card race. With six games remaining with the Giants and three with the Dodgers, the Padres are 3.5 games behind St. Louis for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. In addition, the tension that has been brewing in the clubhouse for weeks has spilled over into the dugout, as evidenced by the epic Machado/Tatis confrontation during Saturday’s game.
Injury updates: Belli and Pollo
With the return of Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw last week, the Dodgers are almost at full strength. Cody Bellinger was out of the lineup over the weekend because of some sore ribs that he experienced when he collided with Gavin Lux in the outfield last week, but manager Dave Roberts seemed to indicate that the injury was minor and he would be returning to the lineup soon, at least against righties.
On the other hand, AJ Pollock will not be joining the team in Colorado as he still rehabs his hamstring. However, he’s been playing some sim games at Dodger Stadium while the boys have been on the road, so my guess is he is activated sometime this weekend in Arizona. It will be critical to get AB’s for both Bellinger and Pollock in these last two weeks, so we can have them up to speed for the playoff run.
Pitching rotation is key
Of course, Dave Roberts is not only playing to win this week. He has got to keep one eye on potential scenarios in October. Right now, he’s looking at three possibilities. One: the Dodgers win the division and then have nearly a week off before the NLDS begins. Two: The Dodgers lose the division and will have to play the Wild Card game on the first Wednesday in October. Three: The division ends in a tie and Doc will need a pitcher for Game 163 in San Francisco.
Whatever he does, he should plan to have Urias on the mound on the last day of the season. That will give him Scherzer and Buehler to mix and match the next two games, however they might fall. Certainly, if there is a do-or-die situation, I would throw Scherzer right now. But in a Game 163, which would be nice to win but not critical, I would throw Urias or Buehler in that one. Right now, if Doc doesn’t make any changes to the rotation, he’s got Urias, Buehler, and Scherzer slated for Colorado. Which makes sense. But don’t be surprised if we don’t see a bullpen game or a David Price start in Arizona so that Roberts can set up his rotation for the final week of the season.
Conclusion
It would be nice to go 6-0 in this stretch to REALLY put the pressure on the Giants, but that is asking a bit much. However, I do think 5-1 or 4-2 is a very reasonable aspiration for these games. If they can do that, they will certainly go into the final week of the season with a very good chance at emerging from September as NL West champs.
