With yet another thrilling win the Los Angeles Dodgers improved to 51 games over .500 this season, earned a 38th come-from-behind victory and their MLB-best 10th in walk-off fashion. They have eight wins when trailing entering the ninth inning this season, while no other team has more than five.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers made Los Angeles history by going 50 games over .500. They became the first team in franchise history to do so since the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers. While there have been stretches this season where the Dodgers blew past their opponents, the last week’s worth of games told a different story.
That’s to be expected, in the eyes of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “When you’re an elite team and you look at what we’ve done, certainly every time teams see us on the schedule, they’re going to bring their best,” he said Wednesday.
“I think our guys have set the bar for the league, and rightfully so. Whether it’s the Padres, White Sox, Diamondbacks, any opponent we play, we expect to see a team’s best. To our guys’ credit, they seem to rise to those moments.”
Roberts has been unabashed this season when discussing his team’s accomplishments. When the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies sat atop the National League West standings in June, Roberts emphatically stated the Dodgers viewed themselves as the best team in the division.
Last month, he openly embraced the notion of of having a proverbial target on their back. At this juncture, the question is not if the Dodgers will win an unprecedented fifth consecutive NL West title, but when.
They also figure to have the best record in baseball, which will guarantee home-field advantage for however long a postseason run lasts. Roberts and the Dodgers have downplayed the possibility but the team is on track to finish with 116 wins.
That would tie the MLB record shared by 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners for most wins in a single season.
