By taking two of three from the San Francisco Giants the Los Angeles Dodgers entered play Thursday night with a season-high-tying six-game lead in the National League West. A win trimmed their magic number to clinch the division to four.
The Dodgers conclude their final homestand of the regular season with a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. Los Angeles will then play road series against the San Diego Padres and Giants.
San Francisco began a four-game set at Petco Park on Thursday, and will host the Rockies and Dodgers to close out the regular season.
The earliest the Dodgers can mathematically clinch the NL West during Vin Scully Weekend is Saturday; that would require four of the next six outcomes to break in their favor.
Los Angeles conceivably could know if they’ve won a fourth straight division title prior to their game concluding Saturday. First pitch at Dodger Stadium is set for 6:10 p.m. PT, while San Diego and San Francisco are scheduled to get underway at 5:40 p.m. PT.
Though they won the series opener, perhaps working against the Giants is they aligned their rotation so that Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Matt Moore started during the crucial series at Chavez Ravine.
Bumgarner now won’t pitch until Saturday, Cueto is out with a groin injury, and Moore misses the entire series in San Diego. In addition, the Padres aren’t far removed from sweeping the Giants (Sept. 12-14) at AT&T Park.
From the Dodgers’ perspective, they reinstated and inserted Brett Anderson into the rotation, and he struggled a bit. The same will now take place with Scott Kazmir on Friday. If not for Yasmani Grandal’s heroics, the Dodgers likely drop the series opener to the Rockies.
Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch Saturday, and Rich Hill on Sunday, though manager Dave Roberts said how the first two games against the Rockies unfold may lead to a change.
A tie atop the NL West standings will occur if the Dodgers’ and Giants’ win-loss breaks down as such over the remaining 10 regular-season games:
| Dodgers | Giants |
|---|---|
| 4-6 | 10-0 |
| 3-7 | 9-1 |
| 2-8 | 8-2 |
| 1-9 | 7-3 |
| 0-10 | 6-4 |
Upcoming schedule and pitching probables
Thursday
Rockies @ Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT: Tyler Chatwood vs. Brett Anderson
Giants @ Padres, 7:10 p.m. PT: Jeff Samardzija vs. Christian Friedrich
Friday
Rockies @ Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT: Sonny Gray vs. Scott Kazmir
Giants @ Padres, 7:40 p.m. PT: Albert Suarez vs. Edwin Jackson
Saturday
Giants @ Padres, 5:40 p.m. PT: Madison Bumgarner vs. Jarred Cosart
Rockies @ Dodgers, 6:10 p.m. PT: Chad Bettis vs. Clayton Kershaw
Sunday
Rockies @ Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. PT: Tyler Anderson vs. Rich Hill
Giants @ Padres, 1:40 p.m. PT: Matt Cain vs. Clayton Richard
