The Dodgers entered their weekend series against the surprising San Francisco Giants tied for first place in the National League West standings. They had identical 85-49 records. Even head to head, they were 8-8 against each other. The two teams could not have been more evenly matched.
It should come as no surprise that the first game of the series on Friday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco went into extra innings. The Dodgers and Giants were tied 1-1 after nine innings. They were tied 2-2 after 10 innings. The Giants finally won the game, 3-2, in the 11th inning, breaking the tie for first place if only for a night.
The Dodgers bounced back in Game 2 of the series. Julio Urias won his 16th game of the season, giving up one run in 5 ⅔ innings, while striking out eight and walking none. Urias entered the conversation for Cy Young Award. He and teammate Walker Buehler, who entered Sunday night’s game against the Giants leading the National League and the Majors with a 2.05 ERA, have been the two best pitchers in the National League since the All Star break.
Urias is 16-3 with a 3.11 ERA and 168 strikeouts. Buehler is 13-3 with 184 strikeouts.
The Dodgers haven’t had quite a 1-2 punch like this since the days of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.
Although Buehler had a very un-Buehler-like outing on Sunday, giving up six runs on seven hits in three innings and saw his ERA climb to 2.33.
As good as Urias and Buehler have been, it hasn’t been enough to pass the Giants in the standings.
The Dodgers did creep ahead by a half-game after beating the visiting Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. But the Giants pulled even with the Dodgers after beating the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
The Dodgers gave the lead right back, losing on Sunday night to the Giants, 6-4. The Giants have a one-game lead in the standings with 25 games left to play.
With Clayton Kershaw looking like he’s ready to return to the rotation and Max Scherzer coming through in big games lately, the Dodgers have a significant advantage over the Giants over the last 25 games of the season.
Another good sign is Tony Gonsolin made a rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga over the weekend. Another healthy arm is exactly the shot in the arm the Dodgers need.
However, just when it looked like the Dodgers could give struggling Cody Bellinger a little break before playoffs started, AJ Pollock injured his hamstring and could be out for three weeks.
The Dodgers outfield looked set for the playoff push in September. Mookie Betts was healthy and back in right field. Chris Taylor was in a bit of an unexpected slump, but starting in center field. Pollock was delivering clutch hits and playing a stellar left field, robbing home runs in Petco Park and making plays that had Dodger fans cheering for days afterward.
But with Pollock out, it means more of Bellinger in center. He is the weak spot in the lineup for a team that has trouble scoring runs at times.
That is why winning the NL West is so important. In a one-game, wild-card playoff game, anything can happen. Most Dodger fans would rather see Pollock than Bellinger at the plate in the eighth inning of a tie game, especially a wild-card playoff game. The best way to avoid that scene is to avoid the wild-card round of the playoffs altogether.
But that means building a lead over those pesky Giants.
These next four weeks of baseball will not be for the faint of heart.
Dodger starting pitchers power rankings:
- Julio Urias
- Walker Buehler
- Max Scherzer
- Cory Knebel
The Dodgers (86-51) start a four-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday and return home for a weekend series against those slumping San Diego Padres on Friday.
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