With Clayton Kershaw Back, The Dodgers Just Won The NL West
Jim Ruymen. Shutterstock Images.I have to give the Giants and Diamondbacks some credit. For most of the summer, they at least made the National League West competitive. As late as July 2nd, the DBacks had a 3 game lead in the division. That's all a history lesson now. The Dodgers effectively won the division last night in the first inning of the game against the Rockies. It was clear Clayton Kershaw was back hitting spot after spot. He didn't walk anyone the entire game and only gave up one run in five innings. It was typical efficient Kershaw work.
Instead of still being a threat, the Diamondbacks leading the division last month become a cute memory.
It's not just Kershaw. There are a bunch of factors that lead to the Dodgers having a 6.5 game lead in the West. The pitching has seemed to right itself with Julio Urias pitching like himself again. In fact, the Dodgers have a 2.83 ERA in August. They came into the month with a team ERA of 4.51 this year.
The other element is that the Diamondbacks have completely shit the bed. They've now lost eight in a row and sit at 11.5 games behind the red hot Dodgers. RDT wrote this two days ago. It's still true. This team has completely fallen off a cliff.
That leaves the Giants who have been decent and have a deep enough roster that should land them a Wild Card spot. They have a 2.5 game cushion and currently sit in the 2nd WC slot. I have to give them credit. When they lost out on Aaron Judge and then voided the Carlos Correa deal, they looked pretty fucked. This was a team that just lost a key starter in Carlos Rodon too. Instead, they spread that money over a bunch of free agents like Michael Conforto, Taylor Rogers and Sean Manaea. Not all have worked (Ross Stripling and Mitch Haniger) but they are undoubtedly in a better spot than if they signed Rodon (always hurt) or Correa (has kinda sucked).
If it weren't for the Braves having one of the most powerful offenses in baseball history, people would be talking much more about the Dodgers terrifying offense. Mookie Betts (31), Max Muncy (28), JD Martinez (25) and Freddie Freeman (23) all have over 20 homers already. Since the All-Star Break, they have an OBP of .366 as a team. That's higher than Hall of Famer Scott Rolen's career OBP. I imagine this is the reaction opposing pitching staffs have when they see the Dodgers on the schedule.
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Other than the West and the East (Braves, obviously), all the other divisional races are too close to call. I still think the Cubs have the most talent in the NL Central but they are 2.5 games behind the Brewers. In the AL, the Orioles have been awesome but even with the injuries, the Rays are still lurking. The Twins should have the Central long wrapped up by now but they can barely stay above .500. Finally, I think that AL West could come down to the last week of the season with the Rangers and Astros who have the two best rosters in the AL.
This will be the 10th NL West title in the past 11 years. In that stretch, they've won 104+ games four times and have been to three World Series. But they've obviously only won a single World Series. Unless they want to go down history like the 1990's Atlanta Braves, they need to win another one very soon. For now, congrats to the Dodgers on winning the West. I can't wait for that Braves/Dodgers NLCS.
(Which means it'll be Marlins/Phillies battling for the NL pennant instead because life isn't fair)