Dodgers players see benefits to being in an NL West dogfight

Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas throws to first base during a win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Staff Writer

Aug. 18, 2024 Updated 3:44 PM PT

ST. LOUIS — The journey is just as important as the destination in the eyes of Miguel Rojas, which is why the veteran shortstop isn’t fretting over the fact that the Dodgers are in a dogfight for the National League West for the first time since 2021.

The Dodgers cruised to division titles the past two seasons, winning the NL West by 22 games in 2022 and 16 games in 2023, and what good did that do them?

Thrust into high-intensity games for the first time in weeks, the 100-win Dodgers were swept by 84-win Arizona in the NL Division Series last October, and their 111-win team lost to 89-win San Diego in a four-game NLDS in 2022.

Rojas believes the stress and intensity of a six-week tussle with the Padres and Diamondbacks for playoff spots will make the Dodgers far more battle-tested for October than they were the past two seasons.

“Those teams that have to win games down the stretch to get into the playoffs, like the Diamondbacks last year, they roll into the postseason knowing how to win and how to play in those do-or-die games,” Rojas said.

“I think they have the advantage because the pressure is off, the anxiety is gone, because you’ve been playing games like that and winning them. You have the confidence you can win them.”

Sunday’s nail-biter of a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium had that pennant-race feel, the Dodgers breaking a scoreless tie with two fifth-inning runs off Cardinals ace Sonny Gray and Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw throwing six shutout innings in which he gave up four hits, struck out two and walked one.

Kershaw, in his fifth start back from shoulder surgery, did not allow a runner to reach second base until the sixth, when he gave up singles to Pedro Pagés and Victor Scott II to open the inning.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers during the first inning against the Cardinals on Sunday.

But he escaped the two-on, no-out jam by getting Masyn Winn to fly out to center field and Willson Contreras to ground to third, where Rojas turned a double play.

This wasn’t the 2014 version of Kershaw, when he won the NL most valuable player award and his third Cy Young Award — his fastball averaged only 90.1 mph on Sunday — but he induced a lot of weak contact and needed only 70 pitches to complete six innings.

“With his stuff, it’s not 95-97 [mph], but with the command, the grit to throw strikes, to get ahead of hitters, you can go out there and still pitch deep into a game,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So I think that’s something all of our guys need to take note of.”

Evan Phillips gave up one hit in a scoreless seventh, Daniel Hudson gave up a pinch-hit homer to Lars Nootbaar that pulled the Cardinals to 2-1 in the eighth, and Michael Kopech pitched around a one-out throwing error by catcher Austin Barnes in the ninth, getting Nolan Arenado to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Kopech, who threw a 102.6-mph fastball Friday night, averaged just 96.7 mph with his four-seamer Sunday, two ticks down from his 98.7-mph season average, but Roberts said Kopech was fatigued from pitching three times in four days and not hurt.

“He’s just gassed,” Roberts said, “so I’m going to give him a couple days to reset.”

Shohei Ohtani ended a scoreless tie in the fifth when he turned on Gray’s hanging first-pitch curve and sent a 113.5-mph liner into the right-field bullpen for his 39th homer of the season and a 1-0 lead. Of Ohtani’s 12 hits in August, seven are home runs.

Mookie Betts walked, and Gavin Lux, who doubled in his first two at-bats, singled Betts to third. Teoscar Hernández struck out for the second out, but Rojas lined a clutch RBI single to left-center for a 2-0 lead. Rojas grounded into a bases-loaded double play to end the Dodgers’ third inning.

“I’m hitting in some unfamiliar territory right now — I’ve never hit fifth in my career, and I’ve never protected a cleanup hitter before,” Rojas said. “Situations like today are going to teach me a lesson. They pitched around Teo [in the third], they went after me, and I grounded out into a double play. Second time around, I was better prepared.”

The win, which capped a 4-3 trip to Milwaukee and St. Louis, moved the Dodgers three games ahead of the Padres and four games ahead of the Diamondbacks, who both lost one-run games Sunday. But San Diego has won 20 of 25 games, and Arizona has won 18 of 24 games.

“They’ve been hot, but I feel like that gives us motivation to continue to play our game and win games, you know?” Rojas said. “We can’t really relax right now, even though we have the [second] best record in the NL. I think it’s good that we’re playing games we need to win, because that’s how we’re going to have to play in the playoffs.”

Roberts views the tight division race as something of a double-edged sword.

“I think you can look at it both ways,” he said. “Being in a real pennant race, I think brings out the [best in] individuals, in teams. The other side of the coin is, you don’t have the luxury of resting guys or kind of red-lining certain guys because every game is even more magnified. That’s not necessarily a good thing.”

The Dodgers rotation is still racked by injuries, but the lineup is nearing full strength, with Betts returning from a left-hand fracture last week and third baseman Max Muncy (oblique strain) and utility man Tommy Edman expected to be activated Monday.

The bullpen received a huge boost with the acquisition of Kopech from the Chicago White Sox, right-hander Ryan Brasier returned from a calf strain on Saturday, and Blake Treinen (left-hip discomfort) will be activated on Tuesday.

The Dodgers will need all the manpower they can get — and they’ll need to win more games like Sunday’s — to fend off the pesky Padres and Diamondbacks.

“We need to win the 2-1 games, we need to close out games, we need to get the RBIs in big situations, because that’s what it takes to win the World Series,” Rojas said. “It’s good that we have to play under pressure. Last year, we ran away with the division, but having someone chasing you is always good motivation to continue to hold the lead.”

Short hops

The jammed middle finger on Freddie Freeman’s throwing hand worsened Sunday, preventing the first baseman from playing, the first time in three years with the Dodgers he has missed a game because of injury. Freeman will undergo a CT scan on Monday, and he is not expected to play Monday night against Seattle. ... Muncy took some ground balls with triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday in case he is needed to fill in for Freeman this week. … The Dodgers called up right-hander Ben Casparius from triple A to add some length to the bullpen. Right-hander Brent Honeywell was designated for assignment.

After lackluster Octobers, Dodgers see benefits to being in an NL West dogfight

Short hops

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