The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their unexpected offensive malaise on Tuesday night, getting shutout for the second straight game in a 1-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix. But despite their poor play of late, the Dodgers are still amazingly within reasonable striking distance of making the playoffs.
| National League West Standings | ||||
| Team | W-L | Pct | GB | |
| San Francisco | 80-62 | .564 | --- | |
| Los Angeles | 74-68 | .521 | 6 | |
The National League West isn't officially over but it might as well be, as the Dodgers trail the San Francisco Giants by six games with 20 left to play, their largest deficit of the season.
The Giants fell behind 4-0 to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Tuesday night, but came back thanks in part to a three-run home run by starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner. Brandon Belt homered, doubled, and drove in four runs, helping San Francisco to a 9-8 win over the Rockies.
The Dodgers got a stellar outing from Clayton Kershaw, who allowed just one unearned run in seven innings, but the offense was shutout for the second straight game, dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker in Arizona. The Dodgers have lost 11 of 17 games to the Diamondbacks this season and are just 28-34 (.452) against the National League West this season
| National League Wild Card Standings | ||||
| Team | W-L | Pct | GB | |
| Atlanta | 81-62 | .566 | +5½ | |
| St. Louis | 75-67 | .528 | --- | |
| Los Angeles | 74-68 | .521 | 1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 72-69 | .511 | 2½ | |
| Milwaukee | 71-71 | .500 | 4 | |
| Philadelphia | 71-71 | .500 | 4 | |
The race for the second National League wild card is becoming a game of hot potato, as neither the Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, nor Pittsburgh Pirates have played well of late. All three teams lost on Tuesday night, opening the door for talk of the now-.500 Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers as postseason contenders.
The San Diego Padres tagged Adam Wainwright for five runs in six innings on Tuesday, beating the Cardinals for a second straight night, 6-4 at Petco Park. The Cardinals travel to Los Angeles for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning Thursday.
The Pirates lost 5-3 to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, and might be more focused on simply finishing over .500 for the first time since 1993 than making the playoffs.
Both the Phillies and Brewers won on Tuesday, pushing them to .500, just four games back of the Cardinals, and suddenly their chances of sneaking into the playoffs don't sound so crazy.
Here are Wednesday's relevant games (all times PT):
- 1:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins (Josh Johnson; 8-11, 3.81 ERA) at Phillies (Cliff Lee; 4-7, 3.50)
- 3:35 p.m. - Cardinals (Kyle Lohse; 14-2, 2.81) at Padres (Clayton Richard; 12-12, 3.78)
- 4:10 p.m. - Pirates (A.J. Burnett; 15-6, 3.68) at Reds (Homer Bailey; 10-9, 4.03)
- 5:10 p.m. - Braves (Paul Maholm; 12-9, 3.67) at Brewers (Yovani Gallardo; 14-8, 3.76)
- 5:40 p.m. - Giants (Tim Lincecum; 8-14, 5.11) at Rockies (Jeff Francis; 5-4, 5.38)
- 6:40 p.m. - Dodgers (Aaron Harang; 9-8, 3.75) at Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill; 10-11, 3.98)
The Dodgers will likely know by the time they take the field Wednesday night whether or not they have a chance to tie St. Louis for the second wild card heading into their four-game weekend series.
For more news and notes on Dodgers baseball, be sure to read True Blue LA.