The 116 games that some believed the Dodgers might actually win this season became mathematically impossible with Wednesday night’s 3-1 lost to the red hot Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. With 92 wins in the bank and with 23 games remaining, the best they can now do is finish the 2017 regular season with 115 wins, and that’s if they win every one of their remaining 23 games, which, quite frankly, carries odds similar to winning the lottery. In fact, at their current pace, the Dodgers might have a difficult time finishing the regular season with 93 wins.

Ok … that was a bit harsh. In my wildest dreams I cannot imagine the Dodgers losing every one of their remaining 23 games, but you get my point – and undoubtedly my frustration.

Truth be told, a 92-win season is a very good season and is actually better than many expected the Dodgers would pull off. If you recall, there were many so-called baseball experts and analysts who had the Dodgers finishing behind the Dbacks, Rockies and even the Giants in their preseason predictions. Ironically, the Giants were mathematically eliminated from Wild Card contention on Wednesday night even with their 11-3 pounding of the Rockies.

But for as good their MLB-best 92-47 (.568) record is, and in spite of the fact that as of Thursday morning they still have a 10.5-game lead over the NL West second place Diamondbacks and an 18.0-game lead over the third place Rockies, the Dodgers have lost 12 of their last 13 games and their last six in a row. During this same time, the Dbacks just set a franchise record by winning 13 straight games, including six over the Dodgers.

Kenta Maeda matched his season-high eight strikeouts in only five innings pitched on Wednesday night against the hard-charging Diamondbacks, while allowing only one run on four hits and one walk. Unfortunately, he received little support from his teammates in the eventual 3-1 Dodgers loss.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But for as bad as things are going for the Dodgers right now, and they most certainly seem rather bleak, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a very bold prediction after Wednesday night 3-1 loss to the snakes.

“We’re going to win the division, I can assure you of that,” Roberts told reporters.

Obviously, Roberts is expected to say things like this, not just to the media but also to his players as well. But even with a 10.5-game lead in the division, history is not completely on Dave Roberts’ side.

As noted by our good friend Eric Stephen over at True Blue LA, there have been teams that have successfully yanked defeat from the jaws of victory and, ironically, one such instance involved the Dodgers. Stephen notes:

Back in 1982, the Dodgers were on the other end of the spectrum, turning a 10½-game deficit into a half-game lead over the Braves in just 12 days. That included two four-game sweeps of Atlanta.

But that run ended in early August, with the Dodgers assuming first place with 48 games left in the season. Their lead would grow to four games, only to see Atlanta recover and ultimately win the NL West, clinching the division on the penultimate day of the season.

Based on this and if history repeats itself, the Dodgers indeed have a very good chance to win the division, just as Roberts professes will happen.

“It doesn’t matter right now what the records are, it doesn’t matter what the talent level is. I believe in the talent in the room,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to go out and win a baseball game.”

Actually they will probably have to win more than just one baseball game to win the division, but Roberts’ crystal clear point is that there is nothing, absolutely positively zero, that he and his team can do about the the 47 games that they have lost thus far and they must focus 100 percent on the next game, which just to happens to include their ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound on Thursday night. As you may recall, it was Kershaw who led the Dodgers to their last win nearly a week ago against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. (It feels more like a month ago, doesn’t it?).

The Dodgers only run on Wednesday night came in the first inning on a soft ground ball to second by Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger, who managed to outrun a double play. The Dodgers collected only four hits on the night against the Dbacks. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although things certainly seem dismal for the Dodgers right now, the simple truth is that there is always another day.

…at least until there isn’t.

Go Dodgers!