After playing Arizona, only four series remain before the Dodgers close the season out with six straight games against the Rockies at home. After the Dodgers wrap up the division, they will look to secure home-field advantage and a bye into the NLDS.
However, that got me thinking about who could pose the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the National League. With a tight the pennant race in the NL East between the Mets and the Braves, one of them will be forced to play in the wildcard.
If the Dodgers can hold onto the first seed, they’ll play the winner of the three-game series between the fourth seed and fifth seed, which as of now, will be the Atlanta Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies, with all three games being held in Atlanta.
So the Dodgers may end up playing the Mets or the Braves in the NLDS, which would be quite a tough series and could determine who represents the National League in the World Series.
Atlanta and Los Angeles have played each other three times in the last four postseasons, so they’ve been quite familiar with one another. During this year’s regular season, the Dodgers took the season series, winning four of six games.
It’s been a while since the Mets made the postseason. They did take the season series from the Dodgers this year, and they also hold two of the best starting pitchers on the planet in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
But Philadelphia could also shock some people. Ever since the departure of Joe Girardi, the team has been on a tear and is looking to break one of the most prolonged active postseason droughts in MLB history. They took three out of four games at Dodger Stadium earlier in the season and took the season series from the Dodgers out of seven games.
You can’t also forget the Cardinals and Albert Pujols, who the Dodgers still have to play in the regular season this month. A potential postseason matchup between the two would most likely occur during the NLCS.
As we know, anything can happen in the postseason, and there have been so many memorable series and moments during this long stretch. If I had to pick who would give the Dodgers the most challenging time, it would be between the Braves or Mets, but I’ll go with the Braves. To get to the gold, you’ll have to defeat the World Champs.