The Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to a 15-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Friday night, improving their record to an impressive 37-15.
The win not only lowered their magic number to clinch the National League West to four, but it also guaranteed home-field advantage for the Wild Card Series, which was a foregone conclusion weeks ago.
Even though there aren’t fans in attendance this season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Dodgers still have been one of the best home teams in baseball with a 16-8 record.
While the postseason will be played in bubbles, the Dodgers will be traveling to Texas if they reach the NL Division Series. However, that would be after a best-of-three Wild Card round being held in the home stadiums of the top four teams in each league.
“That’s a good ting,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s nice, we love playing at home, albeit without fans. That’s a good thing. The guys have earned that, so we’ve got to finish off playing good baseball.”
Once the Dodgers clinch the NL West, they will also earn the top seed in the NL, which means they will host the eighth and final team to quality for the postseason. Considering how many teams are still in contention, it may not be until the final day of the regular season that they find out their Wild Card opponent.
Roberts looking for Dodgers to pick up intensity
After Friday night’s victory, the Dodgers are down to only eight regular-season games as the 2020 season was shortened to just 60 total games.
Roberts and the Dodgers have been in this position before and understand that it is time to start getting focused for October.
“It’s time to go, and our guys understand that. I think you can see the focus and intensity has heightened over the last few days,” Roberts said of this final stretch before the postseason.
Considering how many October letdowns the Dodgers have had in recent years, they seem as determined as ever to get the job done this year. With the expanded postseason and no off days during series’ though, it will be no easy task, even in L.A. will go in as heavy favorites.
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