Dodgers News: Don Mattingly Expects A Tight Race For NL West Title
It would be short-lived however, as the Dodgers remained in sole possession of first place for roughly 24 hours. Consecutive losses now have the Dodgers back in second place, which manger Don Mattingly said he isn’t frustrated over.
Along with not being frustrated, Mattingly also added he believes both the Dodgers and Giants have strong teams and he expects the battle for the NL West title to be competitive, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:
I think we have a good club and I really believe they’ve got a good club,” Mattingly said about the Giants. “I don’t feel like they’re going to fade away and I don’t think we’re going to go away.”
The two teams have met 10 times this season with the Dodgers dropping seven of them. The Dodgers’ next opportunity to improve their record against the Giants will come July 25 when they begin a three-game set in San Francisco.
Both the Dodgers and Giants have had their share of injury issues this season, with the Dodgers being snakebitten earlier in the year and the Giants taking their lumps more recently. It was a similar situation last year when the Dodgers fell in the standings before making a furious comeback.
After climbing the hill to catch the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers ran away with the division and finished 11 games ahead of the second-place D-Backs. Along with meeting in July, the Dodgers and Giants will play two more series in September. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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