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The Dodgers start a two game series with Arizona beginning Tuesday night, and while they are only 1.5 games out of the wildcard, they are 5.5 games back of San Francisco for the NL West lead. The Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez to get into the postseason, so it would be very disappointing if the Dodgers missed out on either a wildcard or divisional title.
MLB Picks and odds favor the road Dodgers in Game 1 of this series, and the pitching matchup for the first game doesn’t get much better. Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Dodgers, and Ian Kennedy for the D-backs will counter him.
Kershaw is having yet another solid season, as he has already struck out 201 batters, going 12-8 with a 2.79 ERA. He is currently dealing with a sore hip flexor, but he is set to start Tuesday. Kennedy is far from what he was last season, but he is only 12-11 this season with a 4.39 ERA. That is well above his career average of 3.85, and far from his stellar 2.88 in 2011.
Aaron Harang takes to the hill in Game 2 of this short series, and his counterpart will be Trevor Cahill. Cahill has been ok this season, with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Harang has similar stats this season, with a 3.75 ERA.
This is an extremely tough stretch for the Dodgers to end the season. Starting Tuesday, and running through the 23rd, the Dodgers have some tough opponents. After their short series against Arizona, they have four games against St. Louis, then three games at both Washington and Cincinnati. Plus, they have three games against the Giants to end the season in October, which could decide the division.
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