The outlook of the NL West division seems to be changing every day. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants are both seemingly winning all the time. When the Giants build up a lead of a few games, the Dodgers close the gap. If the Dodgers take the lead in the division, the Giants close the gap. The games are always exciting and there are 22 of them left in the season for each of the Dodgers and Giants. The Dodgers and Giants are done playing each other this season. So let’s take a look at what teams the Dodgers and Giants play during the remainder of the season.
Dodgers Remaining Schedule
The Dodgers have 22 games remaining on their schedule against teams with a combined 409-424 record, which amounts to a .491 win percentage. The combined record of the remaining teams on the schedule is 15 games under .500 for the season. The Dodgers are 34-20 against the remaining teams, which is a .630 winning percentage and 14 games above .500. Out of the 23 remaining games, 15 are with opponents from the NL West division while the other eight games are with opponents from the NL Central division. Twelve of the remaining games are at home while the other 11 games are away from Chavez Ravine.
Dodgers NL West Division Opponents
Six of the 23 games remaining for the Dodgers are against the San Diego Padres. The Padres are third in the NL West but are currently tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild-card spot in the National League. The Padres are 73-65 this season, which is a .529 winning percentage. The Dodgers are 6-7 against the Padres this season, so they really need to perform well to have a chance against the Giants. All six games will be at home for the Dodgers, so they look to perform better in the two remaining home series against the Padres. The first series will be September 10-12 and the second will be September 28-30.
Three games are remaining at the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are fourth in the NL West with a record of 63-76, which is a .453 win percentage. The Dodgers are 11-5 against the Rockies and 3-1 in Colorado this season. The Rockies do not have much of a shot at making the playoffs this season as they are 10 1/2 games out of the wild card race. The series is set to take place on September 28-30.
The Dodgers have six games left against the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. Three games are in Arizona and three are in Los Angeles. Arizona is in last place in the NL West with a record of 45-94, which is a .324 win percentage. The Dodgers are 11-2 versus the Diamondbacks this season, so they will look to win or sweep both of the series. The home series will be September 13-15 while the away series is set for September 24-26.
Dodgers NL Central Division Opponents
The Dodgers have two games remaining with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are third in the NL Central division and are 3 1/2 games behind the Padres and Reds in the wild card race. The Cardinals are 69-68 this season with a .504 win percentage. The Dodgers are 4-1 versus the Cardinals this season. The Dodgers are currently in St. Louis at the time of writing and will be finishing the season series with the Cardinals this week, on September 8th and 9th. The Dodgers are currently 2-0 in St. Louis this season.
Three of the remaining games for the Dodgers are with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are second in the NL Central and only one game behind the Padres and Reds in the wild card race. The Reds have a 74-66 record this season, which is a .529 winning percentage. The Dodgers are 1-2 against the Reds this season. The three games were at home for the Dodgers, so they will need to perform better on the road against the Reds. The Dodgers will take on the Reds in Cincinnati on September 17-19.
The final three games of the season will be at home versus the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are leading the NL Central division with an 85-55 record, which amounts to a .607 win percentage. The Dodgers are 1-3 against the Brewers this season. All four games were in Milwaukee, so the Dodgers hope to rebound at home. The series is scheduled for October 1-3 in Los Angeles.
Giants Remaining Schedule
The Giants have 23 games remaining on their schedule against teams with a combined 318-375 record. This amounts to a .459 win percentage and the teams are 57 games under .500 combined for the season. The Giants are 34-13 against the remaining teams, which is a .723 winning percentage and 21 games above .500. Out of the 23 remaining games, 17 are against teams from the NL West division while the other six are from teams outside the division. Thirteen of the remaining 23 games for the Giants are in San Francisco.
Giants NL West Division Opponents
The Giants are currently playing the Rockies in Colorado and have four more games remaining with them. All four of the games will be in Colorado. The Giants are 3-2 in Colorado this season and 11-4 overall against the Rockies. After finishing the final game of this series on September 8th, the Giants will be in Colorado again on September 24-26.
Three of the remaining games for the Giants are with the Diamondbacks. The Giants are 14-2 against Arizona this season, so they will look to continue that success. The Diamondbacks have no chance to make the playoffs this season as they are 28 1/2 games behind the Reds and Padres for a wild card spot. The remaining series against the Diamondbacks will be in San Francisco where the Giants are 6-0 against them this season. The Giants will welcome the Diamondbacks to San Francisco on September 28-30.
The Giants have 10 games remaining against the Padres, including the final three games of the season. Seven of the 10 games will be at home where the Giants are 2-1 this season against the Padres. The final three games of the season will also be at home for the Giants. The Giants are 5-4 overall against the Padres and will likely need to continue that success against the friars in order to win the NL West division. The Padres will be in San Francisco for three series before the end of the regular season. The first series will be from September 13-15 and the second will be from September 21-23. The final series with the Padres will be at home on October 1-3.
Giants Non-Rival Opponents
The Giants have three games remaining against the Chicago Cubs, who are fourth in the NL Central division. The Cubs have a record of 64-76, which amounts to a .457 win percentage. The Cubs are 10 games behind the Reds and Padres for the second wild-card spot, so they are likely out of the running with only 22 games left. The Giants are 3-1 against the Cubs this season, but those games were at home. So the Giants will look to continue that success against the Cubs in Chicago in their three-game set after their series ends with the Rockies, which will be on September 10-12.
The team with the second-best record that the Giants will have to take on during the remainder of the season is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are leading the NL East by two games with a record of 73-64, which amounts to a .533 win percentage. The Giants are 1-2 against the Braves this season after losing a three-game series in Atlanta. So, the Giants will look to return the favor to the Braves when they visit San Francisco for a three-game series on September 17-19.
NL West Division Outlook
On the surface, and at a glance, it seems that the outlook of the NL West division is in the Giants’ favor. The Dodgers are playing teams with a better combined record than the Giants. The Giants have a better combined record against their remaining opponents than the Dodgers. The Giants will be playing two fourth-place teams and a fifth-place team. The Dodgers have 14 games against teams with a winning percentage above .500 while the Giants have 13. Ten out of the 13 games that the Giants play against teams with records above .500 will be in San Francisco. Eight of the 14 games that the Dodgers play against teams with records above .500 will be in Los Angeles. So the Dodgers play six games against teams above .500 on the road while the Giants play three.
The Giants also play one more game at home than the Dodgers. The Dodgers are 46-23 at home, which is a .667 win percentage. The Dodgers are 42-28 on the road, which is a .600 win percentage. The Giants are 45-23 at home, which is a .662 win percentage. The Giants are 44-27 on the road, which is a .620 win percentage. The Dodgers have more away games and a lower win percentage away from home. The Dodgers also play eight games against teams with a winning record away from home. The advantage for the remaining schedule is definitely in the Giants’ favor.
The Padres Will Set the Stage for the Playoffs
The Padres have 24 games remaining and all but eight of them are against either the Dodgers or Giants. With the Padres currently tied with the Reds for the lead for the second wild-card spot in the National League, how the Padres perform will determine how the playoff brackets are set. If the Padres do not perform well against both the Dodgers and Giants, the race for the NL West division title will probably be amazing, but the Padres will likely not win a wild-card spot. The Dodgers may have to settle for a wild card seed if the Giants win almost all of the games against the Padres. Of course, if the Padres happen to outperform both the Giants and Dodgers, the NL West division race will still be very close. And the wild card race would likely be fun to watch if that were the case.
Out of all the remaining games, the three series with the Padres are likely the most important for the Giants because the Padres will also be looking to secure a playoff seed. In addition, almost half of the Giants’ remaining games are against the Padres – 10 out of 23 Giants games are against the Padres. The Padres also have the second-best record out of all of the remaining opponents for the Giants. Almost 1/4 of the remaining Dodgers games are against the Padres – six out of 23. So the games with the Padres are also very important for the Dodgers. The Dodgers are currently losing the season series with the Padres 6-7 while the Giants are ahead 5-4. So whatever happens, the remaining Padres games ought to be fun to watch. No matter who wins the NL West, it has never been more exciting than this season has been.
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