Three-peat: Dodgers win third straight NL West title after Kershaw’s gem
Step one is complete for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With an 8-0 victory Tuesday night over the rival San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers have clinched their third consecutive NL West division title. The postseason torch will burn in L.A. once again this year, but many questions linger about his Dodgers team as they enter the postseason.
We’ll get to those shortly, but first, let’s dive into the game details. Fittingly, the Dodgers cruised into the playoffs on the left arm of Clayton Kershaw. The 27-year-old ace was fantastic against the Giants. Kershaw tossed a complete game shutout. He gave up just one hit and struck out 13 during the contest. Kershaw did not allow the final 19 Giants he faced to reach base.
The win completely eliminates the defending World Series champion Giants from postseason contention. That means the New York Yankees will remain the most recent team to win three consecutive World Series championships, three-peating from 1998-2000. However, the Dodgers have achieved a different kind of three-peat out West —they’ve won the NL West for the third straight year, as they try for their first championship since 1988.
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Needless to say, we’ve been here before with this Dodgers team. They’ve become baseball’s biggest spenders, which so far has allowed them to dominate the regular season. Will this be the season that their star power and payroll finally leads to postseason success? That is the question we’re all looking forward to see answered next month.
If it’s to be done, the Dodgers will rely on their two aces. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke have been phenomenal, as usual, and will both be in the Cy Young conversation. Incredibly, both pitchers posted scoreless streaks over 40 innings this season, which illustrates how dominant each could be in a postseason setting. If both are on, the Dodgers have a huge advantage. Still, they would benefit greatly from a pitcher like Alex Wood or Brett Anderson stepping up in that No. 3 spot.
Offensively, we never expected guys like Justin Turner, Enrique Hernandez and Chase Utley, whom they acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies, to play key roles. Injuries made that their reality, but all have performed well enough that if the Dodgers get completely healthy, Mattingly will have tough decisions to make with his playoff roster.
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The situation is setting up to be a manager’s nightmare and a second-guesser’s dream. Only Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and perhaps Andre Ethier look like shoo-ins for the postseason lineup. Yasiel Puig’s availability is still questionable after his hamstring setback. Mattingly would be hard-pressed to leave rookie shortstop Corey Seager out of the lineup over veteran Jimmy Rollins.
For a contending team with a $300 million payroll, the Dodgers have a lot of moving parts. That will only heighten the challenge they face while placing a microscope on every decision that’s made. Factor in a very questionable bullpen and the recipe looks scary on paper. But keep in mind this star-laden roster has plenty of players capable of carrying them over the threshold.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
