The Los Angeles Dodgers came out of the gates blazing hot as they’ve been destroying teams recently such as: the Cincinnati Reds (18-9), the Philadelphia Phillies (15-5) and the Pittsburgh Pirates ( 8-4). They’ve been able to do it without their star pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has been out for a couple of months. However, the rookie star pitchers such as Julio Urias, Scott Kazmir, and Kenta Maeda, have been able to handle the pressure in the NL West division.  The Dodgers’ bullpen has been outstanding with saves and keeping the Boys in Blue ahead, late in games thanks in large part to our closers such as closer pitcher, Kenley Jansen. When it comes to the batting order, it has made a bigger splash than their previous season. One of those major hitters, Third Baseman, Justin Turner, has made the most home runs on the team with 23 overall in the season. Another rising star, Shortstop Corey Seager has the best batting average on the team (.321) alongside First Baseman, Adrian Gonzalez with a total of 70 RBI’s (runs batted in). Overall, the whole team looks very strong heading into the end of the 2016 season.

The Dodgers have first place in their division with a record of 70-55 as of 8-23 last year but they’re not that ahead with their longtime rivals, the San Francisco Giants right behind them with only 2 games back. The Dodgers and Giants play on both the 24th and the 25th of August where it will be decided on who will win the Western division. They have a lot of pressure approaching the end of the season because if they are not successful, they will have to battle in the wild card race against hungry competitors. With the competition fierce, it will be a heavy task to stay on top of the division and have a chance to go to the postseason.