Dodgers proved in Colorado why they are still favorites to win World Series
By Jason Reed
![DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Yasiel Puig (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Yasiel Puig (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/c6057720c89a5ea6d3c47ef7ca10b0f85ab130cf2bbcaf5ffdb04f6cf8beb6d1.jpg)
The Los Angeles Dodgers cast a lot of doubt on themselves by losing 11 games in a row in early September. However, in clinching the best record in baseball, the team also reminded its fans why they are the favorites to begin with.
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the month of September seemingly untouchable. However, an 11-game losing streak in the beginning of the season removed any aura of invincibility that the Dodgers previously had. Walking out of the month, though, Los Angeles clinched the best record in baseball and reminded baseball fans why they are still the World Series favorites.
The 11-game losing streak is exactly what every Dodger hater wanted. Whether that hate be prefaced in East Coast bias, or stemming from being a fan of the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers losing was great for many baseball fans. For once all year, they looked human and they forfeited their chance as the all-time wins record.
The same team that would piece together eight-game winning streaks like nothing now looked worse than the last place Padres. In the skid, the Dodgers faced the Diamondbacks six times; losing all six and being outscored 40-13. LA faced the Rockies three times, lost all three and was outscored 28-10.
These are the two teams that the Dodgers are set to square off against. With both teams facing off in the Wild Card Game, the Dodgers have a tougher challenge at hand than the Nationals or Cubs. The Dodgers went from favorites to win it all, to favorites to lose in the first round.
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The ensuing play from the Dodgers was mixed. Los Angeles took two out of three games against the Nationals but then dropped three of four against the Phillies. They smashed the Padres in a three-game sweep but lost the opening contest of their last series against Colorado 9-1.
However, the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Rockies restores faith in a distraught franchise. Colorado rocked Clayton Kershaw for three runs in the second inning, giving fans a case of deja vu. Just three weeks prior, every single game went this way, just like the contest the night before.
However, the magic of the summer returned for the Boys in Blue. The team rallied with the bats and on the mound to defeat the Rockies 5-3 to secure home field advantage through the World Series. Outside of that, this seemed to be a meaningless game, but it means so much more for the Dodgers.
Led by Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers capitalized on the key situational hitting that fans were so accustomed to throughout the year. If the fearsome foursome of Kershaw, Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Alex Wood can pitch to their standards, with this hitting, the Dodgers again become the monster we witnessed in Summer.
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At the end of the day, nothing is guaranteed in baseball and Los Angeles very well could lose in three games. However, with momentum on their side after a performance like this, the Dodgers head into the postseason with all the confidence in the world; and that is dangerous.