The Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to work their way out of their usual late summer lull, by going 14-5 so far in the month of September. But they face a test starting Tuesday to see if they really are in postseason form.
This month, the Dodgers have beat up on below .500 teams in the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. But they have one last team with a winning record to face before the playoffs – the San Diego Padres.
The Padres come in to this series winners of 13
of their last 14 games, needing two wins to secure a wildcard playoff spot. They have never made the playoffs three seasons in a row in the history of their franchise.
“I feel like the whole team is in a good spot right now,” San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday. “We’re playing really good baseball. We’re checking in when we have to. The entire lineup is in a good spot right now. So when it’s going like that, it’s … a good time.”
For their part, the Dodgers have a magic number of three to secure the second bye in the playoffs, which is important in setting the rotation that the Dodgers want.
“I think it’s going to be a good kind of (playoff) primer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the upcoming series. “They’re a very talented team. They’re playing as good as anyone in all of baseball. I’m looking forward to playing those guys and just kind of ramping it up a little bit more for our guys.”
Andy Pages is expected to be activated off the IL on Tuesday, hopefully fully healed and ready to add to the Dodgers offensive firepower.
Doug Padilla of the OC Register covers more of the details of what the Dodgers are thinking in their last six games of the season here.
One of the things still up in the air as far as the postseason roster goes is the status of Edwin Diaz, and if he can make a positive impact in the playoffs.
Diaz returned from the IL on Friday, a has two scoreless outings. But is that enough to get back on Dave Roberts’ trust tree?
“It’s been really disappointing,” Díaz said of his season. “But now I’ve found growth to come back and perform the way everyone was expecting.”
Diaz was on the IL earlier this season after having surgery on bone chips in his elbow and he came back ready to return to the leverage part of the bullpen. Except he wasn’t actually ready.
Katie Woo of The Athletic covers all of the ins and outs of Diaz’s return and playoff roster hopes here:
“Everybody was telling me I have a new elbow, so just keep going, keep climbing the ladder,” Díaz said. “You will be fine. We trust you. They always stayed positive with me, and you know, I was positive too. I know when I’m right, I can do really good things. I just trusted the process with them. They stuck with me. They supported me. So I was OK.”
But he wasn’t ok. In his nine outings after returning from the IL, Diaz’s ERA swelled to 11.85. He landed back on the IL with neck inflammation. So far in this return, he seems to be doing better. But with only six games left, he only has three to four games to prove he’s playoff ready.
