Currently in the midst of a National League West race, the Los Angeles Dodgers had one of their worst efforts of the season on Wednesday night, falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks to drop back into second place in the division.
The Dodgers only have three games remaining in the regular season, and with the NL being as bunched up as it is, there are several scenarios that could allow them to win or lose the NL West, earn a Wild Card spot or miss the postseason altogether.
While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts understands all of those scenarios and the different tiebreakers that could come into play, his sole focus is on taking things one day at a time to win the last three games this weekend in San Francisco against the Giants, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“You understand the possibilities, that it’s out there,” manager Dave Roberts said before the latest loss. “But you try not to let it get in the way of that game that you’re playing that particular night.”
Going into play Thursday, the Dodgers are a half-game behind the Colorado Rockies for the division lead. The Rockies have four games left, finishing up their series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon before hosting the Washington Nationals over the weekend.
If the Dodgers and Rockies were to finish tied atop the division, then a Game 163 would take place at Dodger Stadium on Monday to determine a winner in the NL West. The Dodgers earned the right to host that game by beating the Rockies 12 times in 19 games this season.
The Dodgers are currently one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. The first spot will ultimately go to Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers, with the latter currently occupying it.
St. Louis holds the tiebreaker over the Dodgers, so if they required a play-in game for the Wild Card then it would take place at Busch Stadium.
Regardless of all the different tiebreak possibilities, the important thing for the Dodgers is to take care of business against the Giants and hope to get some help from the Phillies and Nationals so they can win the division outright.
They will have their best starting pitchers, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler starting in that series.
