The Los Angeles Dodgers chased down the San Francisco Giants and head into a highly-anticipated weekend series at Oracle Park tied for first place in the National League West and the most wins in baseball.
While there will still be an abundance of games remaining for both teams, the head-to-head matchup is the last one of the regular season. That has further fueled the NL West showdown being perceived as having added importance, but Mookie Betts dismissed that notion.
“It’s just another series,” he said before the series opener. “There’s a lot more games left. We’ve just got to play one game at a time for the rest of the season and go from there.”
Betts expressing such a sentiment is hardly a surprise. He and the Dodgers collectively have emphasized needing to focus internally and approach each game in the same manner. The refrain was most often shared for early-season matchups with the San Diego Padres.
Although Betts isn’t overstating the weekend matchup against the Giants, he recognizes the rivalry aspect and how it is akin to experiences playing for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees.
“I think that’s what makes it fun. This is very similar to that,” he said. “The fans may be a little bit different just because they’re from different parts of the country, but definitely it’s a great rivalry and I think it will be fun.”
Betts compares Dodgers, Giants
The Giants’ surprising play this season has been built on an array of similarities Farhan Zaidi once helped the Dodgers establish their foundation behind.
“They’ve got some good arms, good bullpen, good bats, good bench guys. They’re a deep team. They’re not where they are by accident,” Betts said of the Giants.
“They’re just balanced. They’ve got the vets showing the young guys the ropes, and the young guys are definitely soaking it all in and playing. They have a really good roster, really good team and they’re not where they are by accident.”
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