The three-team race in the National League West continued in full earnest coming out of the All-Star break as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants all were victorious on the road.
While the Dodgers and Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, the Padres scored a franchise-record 24 runs against the Washington Nationals. Their record performance, along with the Giants maintaining a two-game lead in the division, caught Dodgers manager Dave Roberts attention as his team played the Rockies.
“I might’ve been a little guilty of that,” Roberts admitted when asked if he was watching the out-of-town scoreboard at Coors Field.
“It was the old school Chargers got a big win over — what do they call them now? The Washington Football Team. I was watching. It’s right in my face, but still focused on our guys.”
What Roberts saw from the Dodgers was a collective effort in a 10-4 win, led by Will Smith contributing a team-high four RBI and Mookie Betts turning in a third consecutive multi-hit game.
“On a mission. Focused, it was good to come out with energy,” Roberts said of the Dodgers. “Mookie got us started and guys behind him followed suit. Julio set the tone early, attacking those guys.
“All the way up and down the lineup I thought we had good at-bats, guys in the ‘pen came in and did a nice job. Julio, to go five-plus, I thought was great.”
Smith: Dodgers focused on NL West
Smith agreed with Roberts’ assessment of the team having a clear focus coming out of the All-Star break and said their goal is to win the NL West.
“It’s going to be a close, tight race for the rest of the year,” Smith added. “There’s a couple other good teams in our division that we have to compete with. It’s just going to take each and every game showing up, doing what we do and winning a bunch of ballgames.”
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