THIS is the biggest series of the season
This is for all the marbles
Nearly a month ago, I wrote an article talking about a very important series for the Dodgers. They were getting ready to head to Arizona with a four-game lead in the division.
Well, that series has NOTHING on this upcoming series.
With six games remaining in the season, the Dodgers have a three-game lead in the division. Their magic number is four. Now, if they were playing any other team, there really wouldn’t be much of a worry. A three-game lead with six games to go seems almost impossible to blow.
Well, when you’re playing the team who is three games behind you…. anything can happen.
The Padres come into town trailing the Dodgers by three games. Since they own the season tiebreaker, you can say they technically trail by only two games. The Dodgers have to finish one game ahead of them to win the division. If they tie, San Diego will win the NL West. So, the Dodgers need to finish the season one game up. If that makes sense?
With the Dodgers playing the Padres, the magic number can quickly shrink. As you know, it goes down a game with every Dodgers win and Padres loss. So, one win from LA would wipe two off that number. If the Dodgers win two games against San Diego, they win the division… simple as that.
If the Dodgers win just one game against San Diego, they will head to Colorado with a two-game lead in the division with three games to go. Barring an epic collapse against the Rockies, the Dodgers should still be able to win the division.
Still, you don’t want to take your chances at Coors Field. You don’t want to give San Diego a glimmer of hope going into their final series against the D-Backs. You want to knock them out when you control your own destiny.
This is also going to be a massive series for the Dodgers because it’ll feel like a playoff series. With the postseason two weeks away, this will be a true test to see how the Dodgers shape up against one of the best teams in the league. It’s funny saying that, considering the Dodgers have the best record in all of baseball at the moment.
There’s a chance the Dodgers could face the Padres in the NLDS. Things haven’t gone great against San Diego this season, considering they won the season series. Despite that, this is the perfect opportunity for the Dodgers to get a glimpse of playoff baseball. We know what happened against the Padres in October a couple of years ago, so hopefully we can avoid a repeat of that.
I’m still very confident in this Dodgers team. A three-game lead with six to go is a very comfortable cushion, but you just got to go out and win the games. There is a disaster scenario where the Padres come in and sweep the Dodgers.
I guess if you want a silver lining, the teams would still be tied with three to go. LA would head to Colorado, while San Diego would head to Arizona. The Dodgers could still win the division, but they’d likely have to sweep the Rockies while the Padres drop a game to Arizona.
Like I said earlier, just win and everything will be okay. Win two of three and you get to celebrate winning the division at home in front of your fans, which feels like it never happens. Win just one game and you still head to Colorado with a two-game lead with three remaining.
Or, for good measure, just sweep those bums from San Diego!
This is a massive series for the Dodgers, bt this is what baseball is all about. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Over the last two months, there hasn’t been a better team in all of baseball than the Padres.
JUST WIN, BABY!
Winning 2 of 3 at home would show that they’re ready for the playoffs.
I'm glad the SD series is in LA; I'm confident the Dodgers can win at least one of those games, and overall I'm confident the Dodgers can win 3 of the next 6. I would RATHER it be the first two against SD and therefore no more to worry about. :-)