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It’s a marathon, not a sprint… unless you’re in the NL West. The Padres, Giants, and Dodgers have been unrelenting in pushing each other to new heights. The Padres with their big spending. The Giants with a good foundation. And the Dodgers with a good everything. Only 1.5 games separate all three teams at the top of the NL West.
Giants are slipping away in the NL West
The Giants were in the driver’s seat for the most part. But the Padres and the Dodgers were right at their heels the whole time. Last week, the Giants hosted the Dodgers and could not collect a single win. The Dodgers were able to send the Giants all the way to third place, while the Padres and Dodgers moved up a spot.
The Padres have maintained their NL West lead but the Dodgers are not letting them rest. They have been matching each other win for win, until yesterday. The Dodgers began a four game series against the Giants in Los Angeles and the Padres ended their series with the Brewers. The Dodgers scraped by a win thanks to a late-inning solo home run by Max Muncy to win 4-3. The Padres lost in extra innings 6-5. Now the Dodgers are only half a game behind the Padres in the NL West.
Dodgers on the verge of first place in NL West
The Giants cannot figure out the Dodgers even though they have been close a couple of times. The Dodgers are now 4-0 against the Giants this year and will send Buehler to the mound today to try and make it 5-0. The Padres will face the Astros in a very interesting matchup. The Giants can’t be seen as a serious threat in the NL West unless they show that they can beat the Dodgers. I would say a series split of 2-2 is the only way to convince anyone.
That won’t be easy since the Dodgers will know that a win and a Padres loss will put the Dodgers back in first place. Yeah all three of these teams seem very likely to make the playoffs but there is something special about being a division winner. It’s like the Dodgers are the big brother in the league and they are showing their little brothers that they still can’t beat them. Padres seem better suited to take them on but the Dodgers are battling injuries and still making it look rather easy…
