"So the chances are high the teams will meet again in the postseason, which makes this week's series at Dodger Stadium a great opportunity to do a little scouting. "We try to gather as much information as we can," infielder Miguel Rojas said. "They're doing the same thing." That's not the main objective, though. Because if the Dodgers are closing in on a playoff berth, they aren't there yet."
"Where the Dodgers are is 2½ games in front of idle San Diego in the National League West. Their magic number for clinching an 11 th division title in 12 seasons is 10 with less than two weeks left in the regular season. But the Dodgers also entered the Phillies series with their eyes on the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament, a spot Philadelphia holds and one that brings with it a bye in the first round. It's a break Roberts' battered roster could use."
"But it's one that became more elusive when Monday's win pushed the Phillies' lead to 5½ games in the race for No. 2, a deficit the Dodgers have just 12 games to make up. "It's really hard to not face these games down the stretch like a playoff game," Rojas said. "We've been doing this for almost two weeks now. That's the way that we have to look at it if we want to be prepared for October.""
Philadelphia already clinched a playoff berth after a 6-5 extra-inning win over the Dodgers that ended on J.T. Realmuto's 10th-inning sacrifice fly. The teams likely will meet again in the postseason, making the Dodger Stadium series useful for scouting. The Dodgers lead San Diego by 2½ games in the NL West with a magic number of 10 to clinch the division. The Dodgers fell further behind Philadelphia in the race for the No. 2 seed, now 5½ games back with 12 games remaining. Players emphasize treating late-season games like playoffs and trying to win every game.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]