Dodgers News: A Few Things for Los Angeles Fans to Keep an Eye On This Week
On Sunday, The Dodgers win clinched the best record in the National League, assuring them of home-field advantage through the NLCS, at least.
With only nine games left in the regular season, they are playing just for health and readiness now. But there are still a few things on the line before October.
Clinching Best Record in Baseball
The Dodgers currently have a 5.5-game lead on the Astros for the best record in baseball. Los Angeles has nine games remaining, while Houston has eight.
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch home-field is 4, meaning if L.A. goes 4-5 the rest of the way, there’s nothing Houston can do to catch them. To put into perspective how much the Dodgers are favored here, the Astros’ magic number to clinch best record in baseball is 15.
There’s still a theoretical chance the Dodgers and Astros could finish tied for the best record, in which case the tiebreaker would be their records within their own divisions. The Astros are done playing the AL West, finishing 51-25 while The Dodgers are currently 49-18 within the NL West, with all nine of their remaining games coming within the division (three in San Diego and then a six-game series against the Rockies to finish the season). If the Dodgers win at least three of those games, they would hold the tiebreaker over Houston.
So, to summarize: If the Dodgers win at least four games, they clinch the best record in baseball. If they win exactly three games, they clinch the tiebreaker over the Astros. And if they win just two games the rest of the way, the Astros have to go 7-1 to tie their record and win the tiebreaker.
Getting Kimbrel Right
With just nine games to go, exiled L.A. closer Craig Kimbrel probably has just four or five appearances left to make his case for a big role in the Dodgers’ postseason bullpen. He pitched a perfect inning on Friday, needing just seven pitches to retire the side. Kimbrel has looked outstanding at times over the past month, but two big home runs allowed to the Diamondbacks have raised questions simply because homers weren’t his problem most of the season.
Kimbrel has allowed just three hits and four walks in his last 13 innings, but he has just nine strikeouts in that time and two of the three hits went over the fence. The question over the next nine games is whether Kimbrel can get that under control, or whether he just traded one issue for another.
Freddie and Trea Chase 200
Freddie Freeman is nine hits away from 200, and Trea Turner is 16 away. Freeman would have to slump pretty strongly to not get to 200, but it could happen. The biggest question is with Turner, who is slumping pretty strongly, going 1-for-12 over the past four games.
Between June 15 and June 26, Trea recorded his most hits(18) in a nine-game stretch this year. Turner batted .422 during that time, and he’ll need a streak nearly as hot to get to 200 hits on the year.
Freeman, on the other hand, doesn’t need to get hot at all. He has played 150 games this year, which means he’s had 142 nine-game stretches. In 126 of those (88.7%), he’s had at least nine hits.
Health
Other than that, the Dodgers are just looking for everyone to remain (or get) healthy. Not much else matters at this point.
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I think it is telling about baseball today that Freeman is honing in on 200 hits, a career best for him and the most in the majors, and he is considered one of, if not the, best hitters in the game. Pete Rose had a YEARLY goal of 200 hits, and did it 10 times, and over 190 hits three other times. Of the 10 times he hit over 200, 5 of them were not even the most in the league. Back then hits were more of a premium, compared to the home run obsession today.
Sorry Craig, it’s been decided already, and the team has finally chosen not to just rely on one of the least reliable arms in the pen to close games. Thank God Doc has limits to the amount of stroking he’s willing to do, but this bird’s feathers are pretty tarnished these days. I do not even believe Kimbrel has even earned a spot on the playoff roster, which is what he really needs to prove over the last few games. We can only hope that his sucking this much has more to do with his not being able to manage the stress of the role instead of his just being washed up. We need not wonder about Bickford though.