July 18th, 2016 at 10:29 am 
by Ron Cervenka It goes without saying that any time a team plays a division rival head-to-head, the ramifications are enormous. Obviously, it generates a full one-game separation in the standings between the two teams. But what many baseball fans tend to overlook is that the exact same thing holds true when one team in a division wins and another in the division loses regardless of who the opponent is; but here again, it is compounded any time four of the five division rivals play one another.
About the time the Dodgers were boarding their flight from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix en route to a three-game series against the Washington Nationals in our nation’s capital after losing two of three to the NL West last-place Arizona Diamondbacks, the second-to-last-place San Diego Padres completed a three-game sweep of the division-leading San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. And while losing when your primary rival also loses may have no net impact on the current standings, it is a lost opportunity that the Dodgers will never get back to gain ground on the one team ahead them in the standings.
In spite of an impressive ninth-inning rally led by Justin Turner’s two-RBI single, the Dodgers lost to the Dbacks 6-5 on Sunday having left 10 men on base while going 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
It would be negligent to say that there isn’t at least some satisfaction in knowing that the Dodgers didn’t lose ground in the NL West standings this past weekend and, in fact, they actually gained one game by winning Friday night’s contest while the Giants lost to the Padres. But by losing the next two to the Dbacks – both of which the Dodgers absolutely should have won – they emerged from the weekend series 5.5 games behind the Giants instead of what could have been (and should have been) 3.5 games back.
There will undoubtedly be a few more opportunities for the Dodgers to win games when the Giants (and other division rivals) lose – regardless of their opponent – in the 68 games remaining in the 2016 season. But should the Dodgers fail to win the NL West division or even one of the two NL Wild Card slots by two games, Dodger fans will be hard-pressed not to think of the two losses to the Dbacks this past weekend as the reason why.
Then again, if the Dodgers do go on to win the division or do land a Wild Card berth … who cares, right?
Play Ball!
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I always like it when other teams help out the team cause, but I’d rather think about the nine games the Dodgers have remaining with the Giants this year than think about what could have been.
The Dodgers still control their own destiny and winning will only keep them on that path towards another division pennant.
Right. The object is to get into the postseason whether via the Division or the Wild Card game win. If they don’t, fans will find many different reasons why they didn’t, but I don’t think any particular series will be remembered.
So you don’t consider a blown opportunity of a potential swing from 6.5 GB to 3.5 GB as memorable or significant? I certainly do.
It means that the Dodgers could have been in first place by the time they returned home from this road trip. But at 5.5 GB, it probably won’t happen now.
Every year there are games that hurt more than others. This year the June 11 blown save game against the Giants was the hardest game to deal with, and still is. While not as devastating as the June 11 game was, these last two games were not only winnable but should have been wins. And I agree that as long as the Dodgers are less than 9 games behind the Giants, they still do control their destiny. However if the Dodgers do miss the playoffs by 1 game, I will remember this weekend.
I’ll agree that things could’ve been a lot better but it also could’ve been a lot worse, if the Giants weren’t swept. Come the end of this season I doubt if I’d remember this series. On a good note the Dodgers still have the top seed in the wild card.