The Los Angeles Dodgers made significant headway in pursuit of a sixth consecutive National League West title this week by sweeping the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
It put them 2.5 games ahead of the Rockies in the NL West with just nine games remaining in the regular season. Overall, the Dodgers have won seven of their last eight games and 18 of their last 25.
Not only does the team appear to be hitting their stride at the right time, the magic number to clinch the division is at eight entering play Friday.
They now welcome the last-place San Diego Padres to town for a three-game weekend series, the last home games of the year for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers have beaten San Diego 12 times in 16 games this season, but closer Kenley Jansen still warned the opponent can’t be taken lightly, via Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:
“We know it’s going to be a tricky series against the Padres,” Jansen said. “They don’t care. They’re already planning their vacations. We need to come out there and swing and don’t take [our foot] off the gas pedal.”
The last time Jansen pitched against the Padres, he blew a save by giving up a home run to Austin Hedges with two outs in the ninth inning. So he certainly will be looking for redemption as he continues to return to his All-Star form before the start of the postseason.
Winning the series or even sweeping San Diego will get the Dodgers much closer to another NL West championship and alleviate some of the pressure as road series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants loom.
