If the Dodgers were to win all 34 of their remaining games, they would finish no less than 2.0 games ahead of the current NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks and 4.0 games ahead of the current second place Colorado Rockies.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that no team has ever won more than 26 consecutive games in the 149-year history of Major League Baseball.

In other words, it probably won’t happen … especially for the horribly struggling Dodgers.

As every Dodger fan on the planet knows by now, their beloved team went a horrendous 3-for-23 (.130) with runners in scoring position in the just-concluded three-game sweep by the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, while stranding (brace yourselves) 30 runners on base. During that series, the Dodgers had a grand total of three extra base hits (two home runs and one double), and scored a total of six runs; not exactly ideal for a team trying to win their sixth consecutive division title, if you get my drift.

Add to this a Dodgers bullpen that has been an absolute mess over the past two weeks, including All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, who is 0-2 and has given up three home runs since returning from the 10-day disabled list this past Monday for an irregular heartbeat.

Yeah… it probably won’t happen.

In his 2.0 innings pitched since returning from the DL, Jansen has allowed four runs on six hits (including three home runs), while striking out two of the seven total batters he has faced. This equates to an 18.00 earned run average. (Photo credit – Jeff Roberson)

All of this said, the Dodgers aren’t completely at the mercy of their division rivals or the other teams they will face over the next six weeks. In fact, seven of those games will be against the Dbacks – four at Dodger Stadium and three at Chase Field – and six against the Rockies – three at Coors Field and three at Dodger Stadium. What this means is that, although extremely unlikely, winning all 13 of these games would indeed put the Dodgers in an excellent position to win their sixth consecutive NL West Division title. But pulling off seven wins over the blazing hot Dbacks and six over the equally hot Rockies by an ice-cold Dodgers team, again, probably won’t happen.

Then again, it doesn’t really have to – at least not entirely. This from noted MLB stat man Rick Krajewski:

Rick Krajewski is a statistician for Fox Sports, ESPN, and the Dodgers. He is also a great follow on Twitter at: @Rick_K21

Another factor, and it is a huge one, are the remaining games that the Dbacks and Rockies must play against teams other than the Dodgers. Should either Arizona and Colorado (or both) run into a skid during the final six weeks of the season, and should the Dodgers somehow return to the home-run-mashing / RISP-cashing-in team that they were in June and July, Dave Roberts’ team could actually run away with the division. The obvious problem, of course, is that they have shown no signs whatsoever of being able to run away with anything … even a ninth-inning lead.

Then again, and as Krajewski notes, it isn’t unprecedented … so they’ve got that going for them.

Play Ball!