Los Angeles Dodgers: Dodgers Need Two Things: Optimism, and Offense

After two strong series’ against San Diego and Texas, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to launch themselves back into first place as the home stretch begins.

Happy September! That means that for the next few weeks, benches will be busy and teams on the bubble will hope to secure a spot in the postseason. One of those teams is the Los Angeles Dodgers. This time last year, they had basically already won the division. Calling up 15 players as the rosters expanded was a preview of the October they knew they would be a part of, and it gave fans a chance to see guys like Alex Verdugo and Walker Buehler for the first time.

With September becoming more important by the day, the Dodgers need two things; optimism, and offense. They need hope, the kind that comes from a Clayton Kershaw start or a Yasmani Grandal grand slam.

And then, after they give their fans the confidence that they can win these games, they need to actually do it. They need offense. They need to be hitting in all 9 innings. They need to find a dynamite lineup and stick with it.

The Dodgers are one of those teams that, every single season, are expected to make the postseason. Five consecutive NL West titles won in this decade alone put the Dodgers amongst teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox; teams that are expected, and counted upon to make still be playing once the calendar turns to October.

The new set up of the Wild Card makes it so that one-third of baseball’s 30 teams make October, but there are some fans out there, myself included, that believe that October doesn’t start until the division series’.

The Dodgers are not the team they were last season. They aren’t hitting as consistently, and have far fewer walk-off wins (though that correlates more to clutch hitting than anything else). Their bullpen is not nearly as strong as it used to be, and it’s been a vulnerability.

That said, that team didn’t have Walker Buehler or Manny Machado. They did not have Brian Dozier.

Last night, they had both of those, optimism, and offense. Even while facing their greatest rival over the past two years, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Clayton Kershaw kept the game close, and Matt Kemp shut it down with his 19th home run of the season.

The home run, that all-powerful 3-run-shot by number 27, could change the tide of the season for the Dodgers. It was the biggest home run of the season. It was the one hit that made Chavez Ravine erupt in cheers. It made the seats shake, and brought the stadium back to life.

I started writing this article right around game time on Saturday night. As I wrote, I watched the game and felt pretty confident in what the Dodgers needed.

With one swing, Matt Kemp provided the Los Angeles Dodgers with both of those things, and he gave them something else, too.

First place.