The Los Angeles Dodgers only have three games remaining in the season, but the National League West title has not yet been decided.
L.A. still trails the San Francisco Giants by two games and they have been been in chase mode for most of the season. It’s similar to 2018, however that year the Colorado Rockies began to lose some steam and it opened the door for the Dodgers to force a Game 163.
Although the Dodgers are on an impressive 44-16 stretch, they’ve gained just one game on the Giants during that span. Barring the San Diego Padres winning at least two games at Oracle Park this weekend, the Dodgers will have their NL West streak snapped.
While playing meaningful games deep into September has the potential to add more fatigue and stress on players, it could also be more beneficial in building momentum that can be carried into the playoffs, Justin Turner said on the “Holding Kourt Podcast”:
“I guess there’s a fine line balancing when you clinch early, guys resting and being healthy going into the playoffs. But then also, playing with that urgency, trying to flip the switch back on isn’t always easy. You can actually see when teams are playing down to the wire, meaningful games, fighting to make the playoffs, and then you see them roll into the playoffs with momentum. That’s kind of what happened in ’19.
“We clinched early and were sitting there, and the Nationals go in the Wild Card Game, come to us, beat us in five games and go on to win the World Series. They were the hottest team in baseball rolling through that last month of the season and all through the playoffs. You see it happen all the time, so it’s actually a good thing we’re playing these games that are meaningful and there’s urgency with going out and winning. It’s going to help us roll into the playoffs playing with urgency.”
Clayton Kershaw previously shared his belief that being in playoff mode for the final stretch of the regular season would benefit the team, pointing out that they haven’t been in many tight division title races aside from 2018 when it took 163 games to clinch.
Chasing the Giants made season grind for Dodgers
Blake Treinen also shared the sentiment that chasing the Giants benefits the team down the stretch because they have needed to grind each game and stay focused.
“We don’t take any team for granted, we don’t take any situation for granted. This whole season has kind of just been a grind because there’s been three teams at the top,” Treinen recently said.
“You don’t really pay attention to what the other teams are doing. You kind of focus on what we can control. At the end of the day, when the season ends, you deal with what you have.
Even if the Dodgers aren’t able to win the NL West for the ninth straight time, Treinen believes the team still has what it takes to win a second straight World Series.
“You can’t say we could’ve done things better or worse; we have the second-best record in baseball,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate there’s another team that’s doing the same thing right now, but at the end of the day I’m going to hedge our bets on our organization to get the job done down the stretch.
“We just have an incredible amount of talent, work ethic and give a crud. We want to win a division, we want to be the best team in baseball. It’s only good for us when we’re having to run down a team that’s ahead of us.”
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