As the final weeks of outside division play end, the Dodgers increased their lead on all other NL West teams, while the other four teams seem to be set in their final positions with 5+ weeks to go.
TEAM RECAPS:
Diamondbacks: Arizona was 3-3 this week. The Diamondbacks went on the road and took two of three against the NL Central leader Pittsburgh but their good fortune did not continue in Cincinnati, where they lost 2 of 3.
Diamondbacks lost a game to the Dodgers, now trail by 8.5 games. Over the weekend, in Pittsburgh, D-Backs lost their opener but then blew out the Pirates by a 15-5 score. In the finale, the Diamondbacks survived a 16-inning getaway day marathon to take the series. They then traveled to Cincinnati where they lost the opener, came back on Patrick Corbin's masterpiece to win the second game but then got behind early and couldn't catch up in their third game against the Reds.
Rockies: Colorado was 2-4 this past week. They like Arizona and Los Angeles, played on the road during this stretch. Colorado traveled to Baltimore and Philadelphia and found neither very hospitable, going 1-2 in each locale.
In Baltimore, the Rockies started the road trip well winning the first game but then they lost the next two and neither was very close. Then the Rockies went to Philadelphia and gave their new manager, Ryne Sandberg, a chance to balance his books. The Rockies lost the first game by a run and then they won the second game. However, losing the third game meant for the time being, Ryne Sandberg was a .500 manager.
Giants: San Francisco was 4-3 this week. They concluded their series against the Nationals by winning their road finale, then they took their talents to South Beach (Miami), winning two of three before going home to host the Red Sox of Boston and the Giants took only one out of three. The Giants did have a brief 3-game winning streak, their second such streak since the All-Star Break.
The Giants were able to crank up their offense on road, scoring 29 runs in the first four games of this stretch. But then they went back home and scored 4 runs in losing 2 out of 3 to the Red Sox.
Padres: San Diego was 3-4 this week. The Padres were only NL West team to spend this period at home, hosting the Mets and Pirates. The Padres split four with the Mets and then lost the first two against the Pirates before winning the series finale by a run.
The Padres scored 2 or less runs in five of the seven games, losing all but one of those. In the other two games, they outscored the Mets 12 to 5 and won both games.
Dodgers: Los Angeles was 4-2 this week. They traveled to Philadelphia and saw Greinke and Kerhsaw pitch a pair of shutouts. On Sunday, they were held to 2 runs and lost the finale in the bottom of the ninth when Hanley Ramirez made his second error of the inning, that allowed the winning run to score.
They then flew down to Miami facing Rookie of the Year candidate, Jose Fernandez in the first game. Fernandez was great, though the Dodgers had their chances, Miami scored some excess runs off the bullpen to win going away. Yasiel Puig had an interesting Tuesday that was highlighted by a game untying home run in the 8th inning to lead the Dodgers to a series evener. The Dodgers then won game 3 on a solid performance by all involved.
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THESE TEAMS NEXT WEEK?
Diamondbacks: Road finale against the Reds, three in Philadelphia against the Phillies, host the Padres for three
Rockies: Game 4 of their road set against the Phillies, three in Miami, host the Giants for three
Giants: Four games against the Pirates, three games on the road against the Rockies
Padres: Day off, Three games hosting the Cubs, three in Arizona
Dodgers: Finale in Miami, hosting Red Sox for three, hosting the Cubs for three
OVERALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Zack Greinke won two games on the road, pitching 15.1 innings, 1 run, 9 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts.
BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE:
Juan Uribe went 3 for 3 with a single, double and home run plus a walk, scored 2 runs and drove in 3 runs in the Dodgers 5-0 win in Philadelphia.
OVERALL TEAM OF THE WEEK:
The Los Angeles Dodgers for the sheer continuance of winning, the Dodgers are now 44-10 in their last 54 games (prior to Thursday's day game), a 132 win pace for a full season. They have a final stretch of 7 games in the coming week outside of their division, that will conclude a 39-game run of such games, as of this writing, they are 27-5 in the first 32 of those games.
WORST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:
Barry Zito is in the final year of his contract with the Giants, so a final countdown surely has begun there. Zito started against the Red Sox in a Wednesday matinee and didn't make it out of the 4th, going 3.2 innings, allowing 6 runs, 7 hits, walked 2 and struck out 3 in a 12-1 loss.