Dodgers draw even with Giants

That eight-game lead San Francisco held in the National League West on June 26?

Gone.

The Dodgers caught the Giants in the NL West standings last night, drilling the Phillies while the Giants were getting blanked in Miami.

The Dodgers have made a run for a fourth consecutive NL West title with a power surge led by Justin Turner (21), Cory Seager (21) and Yasmani Grandal (18) and with a pitching staff patched together with medical tape.

Ace Clayton Kershaw is still on the DL and may be there for the rest of the season. However, Kenta Maeda (11-7), Scott Kazmir (9-5), Julio Urias (2-2), Brandon McCarthy (2-2), Bud Norris (3-2) and Ross Stripling (3-3) have been pitching well enough to get to L.A.’s bullpen, which has been lights out.

Adam Liberatore (1.62 ERA), Joe Blanton (2.64 ERA), Pedro Baez (2.67 ERA) and Kenley Jansen (1.29 ERA, 34 saves) have anchored one of the best pens in baseball.

The Dodgers acquired Rich Hill (9-3, 2.25 ERA) from Oakland and hope his blister issues allow him to make his first start this week.

Last year, the Dodgers had a pair of aces in Kershaw and Greinke and exited the playoffs before you could get a hot dog.

This year, the Dodger pitching is more of a committee effort. Starters that go more than five innings are becoming a rarity.

In 2016, it’s the offense that has carried Los Angeles. As a team, the Dodgers are hitting .273 since the break, best in the National League. Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers have pounded out 32 homeruns, two less than the St. Louis Cardinals, who lead the National League. 

Dodgers get spark from unlikely hero to pull close to the Giants

Baseball is like an alternate universe.

Where else would 27 year-old Rob Segedin have been considering retirement last year when the Yankees demoted him to AA ball?

Instead, Segedin was traded to the Dodgers, was invited to spring training, shined at Oklahoma City and made his debut at Chavez Ravine yesterday, sparking the Dodgers to an 8-5 win over Boston with two bases-loaded hits and four RBI in front of his expectant wife.

Coupled with San Francisco's 1-0 loss to the Nationals, the win pushed the Dodgers to within a game of the Giants in the NL West standings.

Los Angeles has nearly erased San Franciso's lead in the standings and they have done it with a pitching staff held together with masking tape and baling wire. Rookie Ross Stripling won on Saturday and the bullpen bailed out Brandon McCarthy yesterday for the victory.

The Dodgers will put rookie Jose Urias on the hill tonight as the injury-plagued pitching staff tries to tread water in the hope that Clayton Kershaw's ailing back will heal in time for a stretch run.

The Giants have been a sub-.500 team since the All-Star break and the Dodgers have taken series from Washington, St. Louis and Boston to edge back into the conversation for the NL pennant.

Depleted Dodgers showing grit

Clayton Kershaw has had the Dodgers on his back this season -- and now that back is aching.

The Dodger southpaw (11-2, 1.79 ERA) could very well be the best pitcher in the major leagues, but for the moment he is on the disabled list with a balky back and may not return to the mound in 2016.

Despite Kershaw being on the shelf, the Dodgers have pulled to within three games of the reeling San Francisco Giants, who have tumbled out of the gates since the All Star break. The Giants have lost seven of eight games since the break and have to feel the Dodgers breathing down their necks.

Los Angeles, with a slew of pitchers on the DL, have made a post All Star break run behind the hot bats of Cory Seager (.406), Justin Turner (.390) and Howie Kendrick (.400).

Turner has completed his recovery from microfracture surgery in the off-season and Seager is a viable candidate for Rookie of the Year. Kendrick just keeps making contact.

Toss in a resurgence from the ageless Chase Utley and the warming up of Adrian Gonzalez' bat and the Dodgers offense has led the National League in hitting since the break with a .285 team batting average while scoring a league-leading 53 runs.

The bullpen has been strong behind a starting rotation consisting of Kenta Maeda (9-7), Scott Kazmir (9-3), recently acquired Bud Norris (2-2) and recently activated Brandon McCarthy (2-0). Adam Liberatore, Joe Blanton, Pedro Baez and closer Kenley Jansen have transformed the once-generous LA pen into a group of bonafide stoppers.

Rookies Jose Urias (1-2) and Scott Stripling (2-3) have had spot starts as the Dodgers have tried to fill the gaps created by injuries to Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brett Anderson and McCarthy.

The Dodgers went 5-4 on their most recent road trip, winning back-to-back series against the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals, a pair of playoff-class teams after dropping a series to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The real question for the Dodgers approaching the trading deadline is whether the deep pocket management will bring in another premium arm for the second half of the season or hope Kershaw can make a recovery and anchor the rotation for the rest of the season.

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.

The marathon that is baseball

A baseball season can seem endless – but only if your team is losing and more so if they are miserably out of the race before the All Star break.

That is not the case with the Dodgers, who take a 2.5 game lead in the NL West into this weekend’s series against the Giants, who have dominated the Dodgers so far this season.

A glance around the standings reveals some interesting pennant races going on.

In the AL East, the Yankees are only a game behind Tampa Bay. Alex Rodriguez, written off after health and suspension woes, has found new life at 39.

In the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals are trying to get back to the promised land and have a 3.5 game lead on the Twins. The Tigers are a striking distance 5.5 games back.

The big surprise is in the AL West where the Astros are up 3.5 games on the Rangers in an all-Texas battle with the Angels trailing by 5.5 games.

In the National League, St. Louis leads the NL Central by 4 games over the Pirates and the amazing Cubs are seven games off the pace. Chicago has a lot of young talent so don’t count them out.

In the NL East, the Mets are up 1.5 games on the favored Washington Nationals and baseball is now back in style in the Big Apple with both the Yanks and the Metropolitans sniffing at post-season play.

In the NL West, the Dodgers are trying to make it three straight division titles but the defending World Series champion Giants are staying close. Arizona and San Diego are still in striking distance though the Padres have already jettisoned their manager.

If the season were to end today, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Houston would be division winners in the AL with the Yankees, Twins, Rangers and possibly Blue Jays fighting for Wild Card berths.

In the NL, the Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets would win division crowns and the Pirates, Giants, Nationals and Cubs would be fighting for the Wild Card.

It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

Dodgers on a historical mission to win the NL West

Historians will tell you that the California cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego were all founded as part of the California mission chain started in 1769 by Father Juniper Serra under the direction of King Charles III of Spain.

The missions were built near the coast to establish towns, trade with sea faring ships and convert the native Indians to Christianity.

There were 21 missions in the chain but the missions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego produced the largest modern-day cities.

They didn’t play baseball in the 1700s but today’s San Diego Padres get their name from the Franciscan friars who pioneered the state.

Rather than battle for souls, today’s battle between the three cities is for supremacy in the National League West division of major league baseball.

The Dodgers have won the last two division championships but San Francisco owns the biggest prizes, having won three of the last five World Series titles.

Going into Sunday’s games, the Dodgers hold a 2.5 game lead over the Giants and a six-game bulge over the Padres, who they defeated 4-3 on Friday night.

San Diego opened the checkbook to upgrade their squad this season and figure to give the Dodgers and the Giants a run for their money in 2015.

Kershaw has righted his ship

Like Mark Twain, the reports of Clayton Kershaw’s demise were greatly exaggerated.

After winning the NL MVP and Cy Young awards last year, the Dodger southpaw struggled out of the gates in 2015, posting a high ERA and a losing record.

In his last three starts, Kershaw has looked like, well, Kershaw.

On May 26 he beat the Braves, giving up four hits through seven innings and striking out 10.

On June 1 he beat the Rockies in Colorado, no small feat, holding the Rocks to five hits through seven frames and striking out seven.

On June 6, Kershaw exorcised some of the demons from last year’s playoffs, tossing a one-hitter against the Cardinals through eight innings and striking out 11.

Now 5-3, his ERA is still higher than he would like (3.36) but he pitched shutout innings against the Braves and the Cards, surrendering two runs against the Rockies. That’s two runs in 22 innings.

His 101 strikeouts are third in the major leagues behind Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer.

Teammate Zack Greinke is having a strong year and Brett Anderson, Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias have put in solid work in the 3-5 spots in the rotation.

The Dodgers go into tonight’s game against Arizona with one game lead in the NL West.