The final series of the season is here, a rare six-game set against the Colorado Rockies.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are closing the 2022 season with the same team they opened it up against. One hundred eight wins and counting for the Dodgers, they are 60 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history, just unreal records during this decade-long run. They’re the first team to achieve the feat since the Mariners did in 2001. Three teams this season haven’t even reached 60 wins.
However, the biggest question for October is who will close games for the Dodgers.
It has been apparent that Craig Kimbrel isn’t that guy anymore. If anything, these six games should be used as tryouts for the playoff roster, including position players. There are only so many spots available.
Several candidates are coming on late such as Miguel Vargas, who had himself a day yesterday.
Looking at the new playoff format, the first seed does get a bye, but not relatively the best matchup, as they’ll play the winner of the series between the fourth and fifth seed. Depending on the winning teams, I think there should be reseeding after that first round, similar to how the NFL implies.
The Dodgers also announced their starting pitchers for what is left of the regular season. Clayton Kershaw will start the first game of the series and the last game of the series. A six-game regular season series to end before the playoffs are pretty intriguing. It gives you that playoff feeling of playing the same team repeatedly, but the Rockies are a long way from playoff competition.
The pitching order for the Dodgers goes as follows: Kershaw, Michael Grove, Tyler Anderson, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, and Kershaw again. Colorado has only announced their starters until Sunday, beginning with Chad Kuhl, Kyle Freeland, and German Marquez.
There is a clinching scenario tonight at Dodger Stadium, as the Dodgers can clinch home-field advantage throughout the World Series. They’ve already clinched the best record, but if they somehow lose six games in a row and the Astros win six in a row, and they met each other in the postseason, Houston would have home field. However, with a win, the Dodgers will secure home field and won’t have to open a series on the road even though they won over 100 games like last season.
If you also want to keep an eye on potential playoff opponents for the Dodgers, the Mets and Braves are only a game apart for the N.L. East Crown, and they face-off in a series this weekend. The second place will face the fifth seed, which is currently the Padres, who have a 2 ½ lead on the Phillies and a three-game lead on the Brewers.
So, it is quite possible that the Dodgers will face a team in the NLDS that has won over 100 games for the second straight year.
The first pitch for Friday night is scheduled at 7:10 p.m. Pacific.
