Dodgers Insider Sees LA and Giants Tied atop NL West at the End of the Season
Keeping up with the NL West race down the stretch as a Dodgers fan can be an emotional roller coaster to say the least.
While the club’s division foe, the San Francisco Giants, has had a stranglehold on the division lead for majority of the season, the Dodgers do just enough, every week it seems, to fight back within reach of the top spot in the standings.
As it currently stands, the Giants currently have a two game lead over the Dodgers following a walk-off win against the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Obviously, Los Angeles emphatically reclaiming their crown as the kings of the West would be ideal for the organization, but someone very close to the team has a rather surprising end of the year prognostication in mind for the Blue Crew.
Los Angeles Times Associate Sports Editor Houston Mitchell predicted that the Dodgers will, in fact, finish the year in a tie with the Giants, a conclusion to what has already been a peculiar season for the star-studded ballclub.
“I think what we’re gonna end up with, and this guarantees it won’t happen if I say it, is that they’re gonna end the season tied,” Mitchell said. “I mean, it just seems the way this season has gone, that’s what’s gonna happen and they’ll play one game on the following Monday to determine who wins the division and who goes to a wildcard.”
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Such an ending to the season would mean that this would be the first time in eight seasons that the Dodgers would not finish atop the NL West standings.
“I mean, you look at how evenly matched they’ve been all year, it just makes sense to me,” Mithcell said. “The odds of that happening are probably pretty low but that’s what my gut tells me.”
Los Angeles’s record currently sits at 94-54 following a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener on Friday. The Giants pulled off an extra inning win over the Atlanta Braves, keeping their magic alive.
NEXT: Gavin Lux Has Been the ‘Boost’ the Lineup Has Needed
Dodgers will fail this year with Roberts at the helm.. Bats are silent again when they should be blasting hits off of mediocre pitcher like Cincinnati’s 7/15 Castillo, who made the Dodgers alleged hitting machine look like little leaguers who struck out 12 times and left 9 runs on base.
Giants are banging the ball like monsters…..they have a stronger hitting and scarier lineup than the Dodgers. Muncy is the only one carrying the team….Bellinger is a DUD…..Hope for next year….maybe….Buehler run support again was one run….
Agree with everything but ‘Muncy is the only one carrying the team’
His year is good, but lately? 7 ABs = 6 SOs Weekly OPS is below 6 other starters, @.742
Good year, but he ain’t ‘carrying the team’ ATT.
Mookie and Lux are on fire, with OPS both ~ 1.100
Go LA.
At this point, I refuse to support the assertion that the Dodgers will “fail” this year. Winning the Division is not looking so great, but the Dodgers are currently 2 games behind and have managed to pull off the seemingly improbable before. I will, however, acknowledge that the Giants’ lineup is composed of some UNBELIEVABLE home run, power, and clutch hitters, specifically in regards to its veteran players. Not sure how the Padres split their series against the (seemingly impenetrable) Giants but they did; and, they can do it again because they likely want that second WC. As for our Dodgers, they definitely have to provide starters with run support and really fight for this Division and not be resigned to the first WC. Unfortunately, our bats do go silent at the most inopportune times but moving forward….Go Dodgers!
The way the offense has again disappeared, it’s what will send Dodgers home if they don’t get this anemic offense going again.
This would be a really screwed-up situation. If they end up tied, that would mean the two best teams in baseball in the regular season would have to play an additional game that all the lesser teams do not. And the loser of that tiebreaker would have to play a second additional game just to get to the first playoff series. Theoretically, given that the Dodgers find it difficult to beat the Giants in a crucial game, especially on the road, it could result in them having to play 190 games.
That is a really crappy setup. It would clearly result in a change in the wild card rules.
Wouldn’t that be something? Didn’t that happen in 2018 with Rockies?
It did, but they did not have the best regular season records in baseball, and they “only” won 91 games. There were actually two tiebreakers that year. But because of the records, this would be unique.
Hitting has dropped off and will not win division as Giants have more consistent hitting. How they do as wildcard again depends on hitting supporting good pitching
Would not be surprised of they do not get to division finals and Coty must sit from now on
Right now we are wasting time trying to chase them with a home runs or nothing philosophy. We need Trea Turner batting first and then Mookie 2nd so we can utilize their 1 and 2 speed on the bases! Hitting for the fences without speed, bat control and using the full field ruins continuity in the order.