The Los Angeles Dodgers faced a key National League West series for a second weekend in a row, this time drawing the Colorado Rockies on the road. They made their trip to Coors Field without Kenley Jansen, who didn’t travel out of precaution stemming from last month’s heart trouble.
Despite not having their anchor, the Dodgers won two of three games and enter play Monday only a half-game back of the Rockies for first place in the NL West. This after briefly taking sole possession of first place in the division by winning two of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Several players in the Dodgers clubhouse have stressed the importance of each game as the regular season winds to a close and NL West remains a three-team race.
Kiké Hernandez, who slugged his 20th home run of the season on Sunday, echoed that and said the final few weeks could wind up proving beneficial for the Dodgers, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I feel like if we do make the playoffs, we’re getting good preparation for the playoffs. Every game from now on is a must-win. Every game is huge. Considering we’re at their place and they’re playing really good baseball right now, they’re in first place, this game was huge. … It was a huge win for us.”
Losers in seven of their last 10 games, including two in a row, the Diamondbacks have slipped to 2.5 games back of the Rockies. The deficit is hardly insurmountable but their recent play suggests the Dodgers and Rockies will be left to decide the NL West.
They’ll meet again Sept. 17 for the start of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. While that should be another key stretch of games, Hernandez wasn’t ready to claim it would settle a division winner:
“The way things are going, I think this is going to go down to the wire. This is going to go down to the very last series of the year. It’s going to be fun. It’s been a fun September so far. I know there’s a lot of good baseball left and a lot of good games, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
After hosting the Rockies, the Dodgers will play three games with the San Diego Padres, then head to Chase Field for a three-game set that begins Monday, Sept. 24. Los Angeles concludes their regular season that weekend with three games against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Although Hernandez expects the NL West race to run through the end of September, the Diamondbacks or Rockies could be dealt a knockout punch in their four-game series that begins Monday.
