Margins Are Very Tight For Dodgers as Regular Season Winds Down
After a rocky start from Landon Knack, the Los Angeles Dodgers could never bounce back at Truist Park and fell short 6-2 on Friday night.
The Dodgers are fighting to keep their lead in the National League West. The efforts of Los Angeles to keep a formidable distance were not enough as the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants on the road. The Padres are now 4.5 games behind the Dodgers.
If the season ended today the NL playoff teams would be the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the New York Mets. The tightest race as of now is between the Braves and the Mets. Atlanta is just one game behind New York.
The Diamondbacks lost 2-1 to the Brewers on Friday night, which set the club five games behind the Dodgers.
The Padres and Diamondbacks are doing everything in their power to chase down the Dodgers. Even if Los Angeles wins the NL West, the rival clubs will want revenge in October.
The Los Angeles clubhouse has suffered an unprecedented amount of injuries this season. Time is running out for several starters to get back in full form before the postseason commences.
The Dodgers starting rotation has so many gaps in it that Shohei Ohtani has even been considered to play an October role on the mound.
Knack’s latest performance certainly leaves doubts about his potential postseason role. Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone seem like remote possibilities at this point. Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller haven’t proven they are reliable postseason starters. And although Yoshinobu Yamamoto is back, he’s only made one start.
As if the injuries weren’t enough, the Dodgers’ bats were practically lifeless on Friday. Los Angeles was unable to bounce back after Knack allowed five runs in the first two innings. The trend is alarming since October is quickly approaching.
Teams shouldn’t be getting cold in the final weeks of the season.
Winning the NL West won’t matter if the Dodgers can’t find a way to spark a resurgence on offense and fill the gaps in the rotation. The postseason is usually the time when teams are put to the ultimate test, but the Dodgers have been tested for a majority of the season. Thus far, they’ve passed with flying colors. However, the postseason is when Dodgers fans want to see the magic happen.
Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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