Los Angeles Dodgers: Three reasons why the Dodgers will win the West
By Jason Reed
1. The rest of the schedule compared to the Diamondbacks
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a really tough month of August with the teams played and it showed. At times, the Dodgers looked very sluggish and looked like the players were fighting and crawling through every inning.
That is what will happen when you play 162 three plus-hour games in sixth months. The Dodgers hit a bump in the road.
However, in September, the Dodgers’ schedule is much more favorable than it was in August. Los Angeles has nine combined games against three of the four worst teams in the NL: the Mets, Reds and Padres.
Granted, the Dodgers did struggle against the Reds, but it is not completely inconceivable for the Dodgers to win all nine of those games. Being realistic, though, the team should win at least six or seven.
The Dodgers also have three more games against Arizona, six against Colorado, four against St. Louis and three against San Francisco. The Cardinals series the is the scariest outside of the division matchups but the Boys in Blue will be hungry to win. Just going two games better than .500 in those games puts the Dodgers at 92 wins.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks enter the rough part of the schedule and have 19 straight games against playoff-caliber opposition. After a two-game series against the Padres, the team plays the Braves, Rockies, Astros, Cubs, Rockies and Dodgers, in that order, before ending the season in San Diego.