Dodgers closing in on October

The Dodgers, seeking their third straight NL West title, head into the final weeks of the season with a 7.5 game lead in the division.

Barring a Giants miracle, the Dodgers are on track to meet the New York Mets in the opening round of the playoffs in October.

The Mets have a stable of young pitching arms and have been vitalized by the late-season acquisition of Yeonis Cespedes.

On the other side of the NL bracket, the Cardinals await the winner of the one-game Wild Card showdown, which figures to feature Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Cubs are getting close to the promised land with a lineup full of young talent. Theo Epstein apparently does know what he is doing.

On the American League side, Kansas City will play the winner of the Wild Card game, which figures to be the Yankees and the Astros. New York and Alex Rodriguez have defied Father Time and the Astros are the feel-good story of 2015.

Toronto and Texas are lined up to meet for the other spot in the Final Eight.

The Dodgers have been boosted by the arrival of Corey Seager, who stormed into the majors with a splash. Seager has 20 hits in his first 13 games with six doubles and dinger while playing a decent shortstop.

Jimmy Rollins is down with a finger injury but Don Mattingly has to be considering leaving the aging veteran on the pine and letting Seager finish the season at short.

Like most teams, the Dodgers have had their share of injuries. Fortunately, a deep payroll and roster has allowed the Dodgers to have a strong "next man up" solution to the injury problem.

Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig have been hampered with injuries, but Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke have filled in nicely.

Howie Kendrick was sidelined with a hamstring so the Dodgers acquired Chase Utley and Jose Peraza to handle second base.

Starting pitchers Hyun Jin-Ryu and Brendan McCarthy were lost to injury so the Dodgers obtained Matt Latos and Alex Wood. Both have been inconsistent but Wood may have found his groove last night against the Rockies, tossing a one-hitter through eight innings to get the win.

The Dodgers' hopes for a ring rest with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Both are deservedly in the discussion for a Cy Young.

Greinke (17-3, 1.61) is having a stellar season and Kershaw (14-6, 2.12) has overcome a slow start and is in top form.

The big question mark for Los Angeles comes in the No. 3-4 slots in the rotation and middle relief, which was a sore spot a year ago.

Brett Anderson (9-8, 3.35) has earned the No. 3 spot and Wood, Latos and Mike Bolsinger will get consideration for the No. 4 slot if Mattingly uses four starters. Bringing Kershaw back on three days rest did not go well last year and both Kershaw and Mattingly must have doubts.

Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson were acquired to bolster the pen to get to closer Kenley Jansen with mixed results. J.P. Howell, Pedro Baez, Chris Hatcher, Yimi Garcia and Juan Nicasio figure to get most of the work in middle relief.

Justin Ruggiano, Chris Heisey and Scott Schebler have been getting playing time in the outfield down the stretch and will continue to play spot roles. Yasmani Grandal's aching shoulder could mean more A.J. Ellis behind the plate.

LA's core offensive players, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner, Ethier and the spotty Joc Pederson, will need to produce if the Dodgers want to advance. Kendrick, Puig and Crawford are down with injuries and will be needed in the playoffs.