The Dodgers had a rough go of things in Atlanta, dropping all three games to the Braves, just like two weeks prior when the Milwaukee Brewers took three out of four games in Los Angeles. The rest of the schedule for the last 18 days has been the opposite, with the Dodgers collecting three sweeps over two last-place teams (Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies) and another losing team (Pittsburgh Pirates).
National League division leaders
- Brewers 83-51
- Dodgers 80-54 3 GB
- Braves 79-55 4 GB
Against the other six teams among the top seven records in the National League (Brewers, Braves,
Cubs, Phillies, Padres, Diamondbacks), the Dodgers are 23-25, and are 31-35 against MLB teams that are currently .500 or better.
“Honestly, I’m not too concerned about it. I know we’ve got a good ball club. Baseball is one of those things where how you’re playing, who you’re playing, and how they’re playing at a point in time,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday in Atlanta. “I didn’t know that statistic, but I’ll still take our team against any of those winning teams. I think it just comes down to us, we’ve just got to play good, winning baseball.”
You can only play the teams in front of you, and the good news for the Dodgers is their schedule is pillow soft the rest of the way.
- August 28-30 at Tigers (currently 62-71)
- September 1-3 vs. Cardinals (67-68)
- September 4-6 vs. Nationals (63-73)
- September 7-9 vs. Reds (63-71)
- September 11-13 a Marlins (68-66)
- September 14-17 at Reds (63-71)
- September 18-20 vs. Giants (55-79)
- September 22-24 vs. Padres (72-62)
- September 25-27 at Giants (55-79)
Only the Marlins and Padres have winning records among the Dodgers remaining schedule, which amounts to only six out of 28 games. If the Cardinals have a winning home series this weekend against the Pirates, that will make nine out of 28 games against teams at .500 or better.
Meanwhile the Braves play 13 games against the Phillies, Rays, and Cubs in September, plus road series against the Marlins and .500-adjacent Astros. The Brewers have nine games against the Cubs and Phillies, plus a series with the Cardinals.
How the Dodgers play in October will determine how they do in the postseason. But they can at least increase their chances at one of the top two seeds in the National League postseason with a strong final four and a half weeks of the regular season.
