As the Dodgers enter the final stretch of the season, they are still only one game behind the Giants. If a tight division race wasn’t nerve-racking enough, being a game apart from your most hated vision rival adds another element.
Just imagine if it comes down to a Game 163.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will finish up the final road trip of the season with division opponents. After taking two out of three from the Reds, the Dodgers will visit Colorado and Arizona to finish the roadtrip.
First, off they will begin a three-game series with the Rockies. The last time the two sides met, the Rockies actually took two out of three from the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
The Giants, at the same time, will be playing the Padres, who come off of just being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. Each day, the Padres fall behind more in the race for the second wildcard, so they will have to turn it around quickly if they want to even have a chance. Hopefully, that comes at the expense of the Giants.
The Dodgers will run out perhaps their best pitching trio, although it will be at Coors Field, beginning Tuesday with Julio Urias, who still leads the league in wins at 18, followed by Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer.
Now with every game being watched closely, the Dodgers simply will have to bring their A-game. It appears as the Cardinals will lock onto that second wild-card spot as they’ve won nine games in a row. They’re three games up on the Reds and 9-1 in their last ten games, so they are getting hot at the right moment.
Against the Rockies, the Dodgers will face right handers Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez the first two games and left hander Kyle Freeland in the last game.
Senzatela, who will pitch the first game of this three-game series, is 4-9 on the year with a 4.06 ERA. Urias is 18-3 with a 2.99 ERA.
Meanwhile, as the evening progresses, we will all be scoreboard watching down in San Diego. The Giants will hand the ball to Kevin Gausman, while the Padres have not announced a starter.
Urias will look to make it 19 wins in Colorado. The first pitch for the opener is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. Pacific.
The Dodgers also announced Tuesday morning unfortunately that Jo Lasorda passed away at the age of 91. Jo was the widow of Dodger Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. The couple was married for 70 years.
The Cards are starting a 3-game series with the Brewers tonight. I doubt their winning streak gets to 12. Although the Brewers pretty much have everything wrapped up, I don’t think they’ll just roll over for St. Louis, so the Reds and Padres still have an outside chance to make up a little ground by the end of the week. Cards next series is with the Cubs who are pretty bad right now but there is that Chicago-St. Louis rivalry so they’d love to knock off their rivals.
Let’s assume for a minute that the Wild Card isn’t totally decided yet. Who would all of you most like to play if we wind up in that game?
(Tmax and Bear – see if you can answer my question without mentioning the word “Bellinger”.) 🙂
Not the Cardinals. We have had a tough time with the Cards through the years. They have very good pitching and hitters like Goldschmidt and Arenado that can get hot and dominate a game. And the Cards have been on fire since the AS break.
But it’s all Bellingers Fault LOL…
I had high hopes for you Tmax, but in the end you succumbed. 🙂
I don’t think I’d particularly like to face the Cards either, especially if Flaherty manages to be healthy enough to pitch a couple of innings in relief of Waino.
But the team I’d least like to face is the Padres. I know their pitching is totally screwed up but for one game that offense might be able to overcome whatever starter they would use. For a 7 game series their starting pitching would never hold up.
If we eliminate the Phils (which I’m not entirely certain we can) that would leave the Reds. I think I’d be comfortable that we could beat them in a single game, even if we had to face Castillo.
Yeah, I am afraid of Wainright. But my biggest fear is the Dodger offense. It is a chameleon. you just never know. The Padres if they get going can certainly outslug the Dodgers. But Scherzer will probably start and he is a tough go. One game is such a coin flip. A bad bounce a bad call and your season is over. They really should make it at least 3 games or make an NL and AL grouping and go by their individual record.
I’m almost certain the playoff formula will be re-worked when they negotiate the new contract. If the Giants or Dodgers lose the WC after winning over 100 games, the screaming will be that much louder.
So, we’ll definitely see something different after the new contract goes into place and play starts up again in 2025.
Ha Ha that is my guess too! its gonna be a helluva strike. They do not like or trust each other….
I am hoping for the DH in the NL and anything else that will speed up the game.
The problem Jeff, in a tight pennant race, is you can’t set your play-off rotation, because who knows who will be needed in the last 2/3 games of the season and possibly a 163rd game. You. Could end up with a bullpen game or heaven forbid Kersh starting. Less problem if they win the division, which by the way I think they will. In a one game wild card game all bets are off. The second wild card team can make sure their ace is well rested.
Sometimes UR an ass…LOL…..Cardinals. I think their pitching is going to be gassed by playoff time.
Sometimes????