The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Friday with a one-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West standings. The San Diego Padres weren’t far behind both teams, with only two games separating them from the top spot.
Back-to-back series against the Giants and Padres presents the Dodgers a golden opportunity to create some distance between them and their competition in the NL West.
It didn’t get off to a great on Friday, as the Giants pulled even with the Dodgers atop the NL West, while the Padres remain two games back after their defeat against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But there is sill plenty of time to build that cushion over the next six games at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s really critical,” manager Dave Roberts said of the current stretch in the Dodgers’ schedule. “I think that you see the schedule, you see the opponents, you see where your ballclub is at, and you just want to keep trudging along and play good baseball. I think we’ve managed it pretty well.
“We haven’t seen these guys, obviously, all season, so it’s going to be an exciting series. A long-time rival, who have found ways to win baseball games, they’re playing good baseball.
“And so it’ll be a good series. And then obviously, we got San Diego for four. So it’s going to be a fun homestead.”
As a byproduct of MLB’s initiative to have a balanced schedule, which began in 2023, the Dodgers went 66 games without facing either the Padres or Giants. But it has now swung to the other extreme, with the Dodgers’ game on June 9 marking the start of 10 straight games against their NL West foes.
While the new schedule is certainly unorthodox, Roberts believes the change has been a net positive for the game.
“I think it’s certainly not ideal, but it really doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s the schedule. I mean, not seeing the Giants and the Padres, and then seeing them back-to-back, or the Padres back-to-back, seven times in 10 days, seems sort of odd.
“But a lot of teams are going through it. I still think net sum, I like the balanced schedule. I think it’s good to play all the different teams and I think it’s good for fans, too.”
Max Muncy picks which team is Dodgers’ rival
A new rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres has been formed in the eyes of the public, but Max Muncy believes that the Giants will always be L.A.’s one and only rival.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
