After pulling even with the Colorado Rockies atop the National League West standings on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers in some essence controlled their own destiny when it came to a potential division championship.
With their second consecutive victory over the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers at minimum guaranteed themselves a spot in the NL Wild Card Game on Tuesday. However, they went into Sunday with a chance to claim a sixth straight NL West championship.
While Los Angeles did their part in a rout of the Giants, the Rockies held suit against the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers and Rockies outscored their opponents a combined 27-0 in the victories.
It set the stage for a Game 163 at Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon. The contest is one Matt Kemp believes the Dodgers need to win, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We’ve got to play this like a playoff game tomorrow. It’s a must-win game for us. Nobody wants to go to the East Coast for one game. We’ve got to play the way we’ve been playing each game this month. We’ve been playing like it’s a playoff game every day.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts echoed essentially the same sentiment as Kemp:
“It’s a game where, obviously it’s not do-or-die, but I think it’s a must-win game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “To win the game and get a couple days off and to host a division series is very important.”
A win on Monday not only clinches another NL West title for the Dodgers but would allow them to have home-field advantage in an NL Division Series matchup with the Atlanta Braves, which begins Thursday. The same applies to the Rockies should they emerge victorious.
Meanwhile, the loser of Game 163 would need to travel for a matchup with the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Game. The winner of the Cubs-Brewers one-game playoff would secure the top seed in the NL playoffs and face whichever team emerges from the Wild Card.
