At the risk of redundancy, exactly 12 days ago, former MLB manager and current Dodgers broadcaster and MLB Network Radio analyst Kevin Kennedy posted a message on Twitter encouraging Dodger fans not to panic at the current state of the then NL West fourth place Dodgers – this in spite of the fact that, at the time, the Dodgers were a season-worst 8.5 games behind the then division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

Skip, as Kennedy is affectionately known, went so far as to suggest that the Dodgers could still win the division when the general consensus among many Dodger fans was that all was lost:

Lo and behold, here we are not even two weeks later, and those very same Dodgers are now a mere 3.5 games behind the now division-leading Colorado Rockies, 2.0 GB of the Dbacks, and have passed the San Francisco Giants for sole possession of third place in the division.

Let me repeat that: The Dodgers are now a mere 3.5 games behind the now division-leading Colorado Rockies, with whom they will open a crucial three-games series on Friday at Coors Field in Denver.

In other words, the Dodgers could very well find themselves leading the National League West by this time next week.

But Kennedy isn’t the only one who saw Monday night’s exciting come-from-behind 5-4 win over the NL East second place Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium as living proof that the once-struggling defending National League champions had turned their seemingly bleak season around. Former Dodgers general manager and current SportsNet LA analyst Ned Colletti also sees it that way:

When you consider that Monday’s game began with the Phillies scoring a run in the top of the first inning without collecting a hit, and that the Dodgers were down 4-0 by the second inning after a three run home run off the bat of Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez; and that they were held hitless by Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez until the bottom of the sixth inning, you begin to see what Colletti is talking about.

In fact, by the time the sixth inning rolled around, many of the 39,759 who had witnessed the emotional Memorial Day pregame ceremony and National Anthem, were already headed home.

In the bottom half of the sixth inning, Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig finally broke up Velasquez’s no-hitter with a leadoff single and subsequent Phillies error; followed by a one out double by Joc Pederson; followed by a two out single by Justin Turner to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

But it was what the Dodgers did in their half of the eighth inning that many – perhaps most – Dodger fans will forever remember as possibly being the turning point of the 2018 season, and of which Colletti is referring to.

With only six outs left to work with, Puig yet again led off the inning with a single, this one an absolute laser shot that was simply too hot for Phillies shortstop Scott Kingery to handle; followed by a clutch pinch-hit double by Matt Kemp to score Puig from first base; followed by a fielding error by Hernandez to allow his namesake Kiké Hernandez to reach first; followed by a single by Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy; followed by a fielders choice force out of Kiké at second base by Justin Turner; followed by a wild pitch by Phillies reliever Adam Morgan allowing Turner to take second; followed by an absolutely huge single to left field by Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal to score both Kiké and Turner to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead and the eventual winning score.

It was Matt Kemp’s RBI pinch-hit double in the bottom of the eighth inning that completely changed the momentum of Monday night’s game … and perhaps the Dodgers entire season.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

It was, in every sense, a team effort that was capped off by Dodgers star closer Kenley Jansen collecting his 12th save of the season. And even though Dodgers spot starter Brock Stewart did not figure in the decision, Dodgers left-handed reliever Scott Alexander and right-handers Erik Goeddel and Yimi Garcia (who had been called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier in the day), and Jansen allowed no runs and only two hits, with five strikeouts and zero walks in their combined five innings of relief; with Garcia picking up the win.

Buckle up, Dodger fans. Things are about to get real in the NL West.