Mighty Dodgers have big lead as they chase another NL West title

The Los Angeles Dodgers needed a one-game playoff to win the NL West last year. That appears to have been an aberration.

After six straight victories heading into Monday, the Dodgers led the division by 13 games, and that’s a little more in line with their norm of late. Los Angeles has won the last six NL West titles, and twice the final margin was in double digits. Now the Dodgers own the best record in baseball and are in the middle of another midseason surge.

They are 15-6 this June, after going 17-9 in that month last year and 21-7 in 2017. Their last three games before Monday were particularly pulsating, each won on a walk-off home run by a rookie. Will Smith, Matt Beaty and Alex Verdugo delivered those dramatic swings against Colorado, the team that took the division race with Los Angeles down to the 163rd game last season.

The Dodgers seem eager to make sure it doesn’t come to that in 2019. Their 3.16 team ERA is the best in the majors and they lead the National League in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Cody Bellinger is an MVP candidate and Max Muncy is following his 2018 breakout with another fine offensive season. On the mound, HyunJin Ryu is 9-1 with a 1.27 ERA, while Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler have shined as well.

The Dodgers are still seeking their first World Series title since 1988 but what they’ve already done within their division is noteworthy. The team that started this streak of NL West titles in 2013 included Kershaw, Ryu and Kenley Jansen, but most standouts have moved on. Los Angeles has remained among the game’s elite teams thanks to new contributors like Bellinger, Corey Seager and Muncy.