LA Sports Hub
Fansided

The Dodgers Don’t Want To Let Their Division Lead Slip Away This Early

By Keith Rivas

facebooktwitterreddit

The Los Angeles Dodgers now have a familiar division foe to worry about that has caught all the steam and attention after a not-so-fabulous start — and that would be the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco has won three of  the last five World Series titles, so they’ve earned at least the respect of an honorable opponent but now things are starting to look dangerous for Los Angeles.

Here’s a look at the NL West standings as of 5/21:

[table id=10 /]

The Giants have been on a tear lately and finished off a sweep of none other than the Dodgers tonight up in San Francisco.

Los Angeles better get the ball rolling at home against the Padres and the Braves as they now enter a six game home stand. Injuries have plagued the Dodgers, whether offensively with Yasiel Puig still nursing a hamstring issue or Hyun-Jin Ryu who ended his pitching in 2015 with season-ending surgery on a torn labrum, one thing is clear — the Dodgers are banged up.

But this might be just what the doctor ordered.

More from LA Sports Hub

If the Dodgers can survive this onslaught of injuries it might just help them come playoff time. The National League seems to be much better this season than in years prior so no matter who they end up facing it will be a challenge.

I mean, the Cardinals are going to be in the mix too — Los Angeles’ apparent Achilles’ Heel.

The Giants and Dodgers currently stand as the only two teams in the Division with a record matching a win percentage of .500 or better (Padres really slipped out of the conversation into the unknown).

Recent success would tell us to bet on the Giants continuing their success, but the time for the Dodgers to regain the confidence they need moving forward is now.

Live Feed

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's rumored contract should convince Dodgers to spend elsewhere
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's rumored contract should convince Dodgers to spend elsewhere /

Dodgers Way

  • MLB Rumors: 3 moves Dodgers must make to fortify rotation around Shohei Ohtani FanSided
  • Former Blue Jays All-Star blasts MLB media for unnecessary shots at TorontoFanSided
  • First pitch: Shohei Ohtani contract can’t break baseball, MLB owners already haveFanSided
  • MLB Insider: What I'm hearing on Brewers, Dodgers, Seth Lugo and moreFanSided
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto update: Yankees on, Dodgers question, Braves wild cardCall to the Pen

    • Plus, imagine how scary it’ll be when everyone’s healthy in late September as opposed to now and on the road to that moment they still managed to deflate opponents night in and night out.

    Los Angeles has lost three in a row while San Francisco has won it’s last six — the Padres are the only other team currently on a losing streak (2 games).

    This tells us that the injuries have gotten to Los Angeles — at least mentally for the time being — and if the goal is to win a championship then they have to win the mental battle before thinking they can go up against anything or anyone else.

    Bottom Line: Los Angeles can’t afford to cough up first place

    Especially with Don Mattingly at the helm.

    Clayton Kershaw has been the latest surprising fallout in blue and white. Of the nine games in which he has started for the Dodgers this season he has only won four of them — that’s less than half.

    That’s simply unacceptable.

    Home/Los Angeles Dodgers