The All-Star break is over and baseball action is back in full swing as teams play for precious playoff spots. We continue our review for the homestretch with a look at the NL West. You can also check out the other divisional previews including our analysis of the NL East and NL Central races.
The same old suspects have once again lorded over the National League West this season. Age-old rivals the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers have stamped their class in the NL West and separated themselves from the pack. The only question that beckons in the second half is which among these two teams will reign supreme and win the division crown?
Read on for everything you need to know about this heated pennant race in the MLB’s National League.
[sc:MLBArticles ]NL West Race Odds, Analysis and Prediction
Favorite – Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers had one of the most talented lineups on paper at the beginning of the season so it was quite a surprise that they struggled so badly at the start of the campaign. It was only a matter of time, though, before the veterans started to get their acts together and now the results are there for all to see.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Once again, pitching has been the key to the Dodgers’ resurgence, with the team posting a 3.29 ERA which is the fifth best mark in the majors this year. Leading the way for the Dodgers’ pitching staff is their ace Clayton Kershaw who is having a monster year on the mound for Los Angeles. Kershaw has been lights out, posting an 11-2 record with a mind-blowing 1.92 ERA in 15 appearances for the Dodgers.
Josh Beckett, Zach Greinke and Ryu Hyun-Jin have also been brilliant in support of Kershaw in the Dodgers’ starting rotation posting ERAs of 2.26, 2.90, and 3.39 respectively as Los Angeles slowly but surely overtook the Giants’ once mighty lead atop the NL West standings. In fact, the Dodgers are now the odds-on favorites at -250 to win the division for the second-straight season.
It might be underrated but the Dodgers’ hitting also played a huge part in the Dodgers’ first half comeback. Yasiel Puig has been tremendous for the Dodgers this season leading the Dodgers in hitting with a .308 batting average. It is the surprise play, however, of second baseman Dee Gordon that has provided the boost for the Dodgers offense and has added more depth to an already-stacked lineup.
Gordon has hit .297 so far this season and his exploits have helped the Dodgers post the second-highest run differential in the National League this year at +51. With so many lesser-known bats backing up their world-class pitching, it will be tough to stop the Dodgers in the second half of the season.
High-Value Sleeper – San Francisco Giants
The All-Star break could not have come at a better time for the Giants as they suffered a bad patch of form to end the first half. At one point, the Giants seemed to be pulling away from the rest of the NL West, posting a 42-21 record that saw them establish a 9 ½ game lead over the Dodgers last June 8. That lead evaporated quickly as they finished the first half with a 10-22 record. They entered the All-Star break with a 52-43 slate and trailed the Dodgers by a game for the NL West lead.
So what went wrong for the Giants? San Francisco, which is currently seventh in the majors when it comes to team ERA with 3.37, allowed 5.4 runs per game in the 22 defeats that they suffered during their freefall before the break.
Having the sixth-worst batting average among all the MLB teams this year with a .245 clip, the losses were bound to happen eventually for the Giants. The wins, when they’ve had them, have come from a starting rotation of Tim Hudson, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, and when the pitchers don’t steal games the Giants haven’t had the offense to back them up en route to their 55-44 record.
They are priced at +130 to regain the NL West crown they last won in 2012.
Create a betting account now and back your favorite for the NL West or any other division and baseball and cash in as the season hits the homestretch.
Key Player – Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)
If Clayton Kershaw pitches the way he pitched in the first half of the season,the Dodgers should be on their way to their second-straight division title.
In fact, at one point in the first half, Kershaw pitched 41.2 consecutive scoreless innings, the fifth-longest such streak in the modern era and he will once again be an important piece for the Dodgers as they try to win their first World Series title since 1988.
Key Series – September 22-24 – San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers
If the two teams remain tight at the top of the team standings until September, then this final series between the two at Dodger Stadium may ultimately decide where the division banner will hang at the end of the season. The Giants have won seven of the teams’ last 10 meetings but so much has changed since their last meeting in May.
Writer’s Prediction
The Dodgers’ depth in both its pitching and batting lineups will help them coast to an easy division win.
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