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It would be rather cruel to just state that the Dodgers went on a 5-15 run because they were playing terribly. While they didn’t play great, they weren’t terrible most of the time. They were more unfortunate rather than bad. Some close games were lost and many times they looked like they just needed one perfectly timed hit to get them out of their rut. And it looks like they finally got that.
Gavin Lux proving his worth
Gavin Lux, the unlikely hero, was the one to provide the spark to ignite the Dodgers to their winning ways. In their first game against the Mariners in this recent home stand, the Dodgers were trailing by one in the 8th inning with 2 outs. Lux came up to bat with 2 runners on and a chance to tie the game. Well he didn’t. Instead of tying it, he blasted a 3-run home run to put the Dodgers on top by 2. It was the first time in a few weeks that the Dodgers finally got their hit but better late than never.
The Dodgers were in first place before the rut but they now find themselves in 3rd place even after the 3 series wins. However, the are only 2 games back and they are actually 7-1 since Gavin Lux’s late-inning heroics. So it’s not that the Dodgers were way back in the standings and are climbing back. In fact, they never fell behind more than 4 games from first place.
Dodgers win 3 straight against Diamondbacks
Things fell the Dodgers’ way yesterday… literally. In the bottom of the 7th, the Dodgers were trailing 2-1 with Pujols up to bat. He then proceeded to hit a flair to shallow right field and the ball ended up bouncing off the glove of the right fielder. It was clear that the right fielder was preparing for the runner at second to tag so that was enough to cause him to lose track of the ball for a second. Two runs came in to score because of that play and the Dodgers ended up taking a 1 run lead that they added on to later.
Giants and Padres not letting the Dodgers catch their breath
The issue has been that the Giants and Padres have not slipped up in that span. The Giants are a solid 7-3 in their last 10 games and the Padres are a staggering 9-1 in their last 10 games. So far in the 2021 season, the NL West has been a full on sprint and it doesn’t look like any teams are slowing. The three top NL West teams have gotten to such a hot start that they are actually 1,2,3 in the National League standing as well.
So at this moment, the best three teams in the National League all play in the NL West. This division seems as though it has what it takes to be competitive the rest of the season which is something we haven’t seen in quite a few years. The Dodgers will look to defend those bragging rights but it will be tougher than ever. Going into the season, their biggest threat seemed to be coming from down south in San Diego but now they have trouble coming from the north as well.
Vital matchup between Dodgers and Giants coming up
The biggest series of the weekend will take place in the Bay as the Giants will host the Dodgers for their first matchup of the season. It will be interesting to see if the Giants can hold their own against defending World Series Champions. The Dodgers are not taking this lightly either, knowing that they can end the series with their division lead restored.
