How Dodgers can (effectively) lock up NL West in rivalry stretch against Padres

Last summer, the Dodgers nearly lost the NL West during a horrid 40-day stretch.Now, with the Padres on the schedule in two of their next three series, they can effectively lock up another division crown soon.Such is the position the Dodgers have put themselves in entering Friday night’s series opener at Petco Park against the Padres, which marks the first of seven games in the next 10 days between the rivals (the Padres visit Dodger Stadium for a four-game series beginning next Thursday).As it stands, the Dodgers lead the second-place Padres by nine games in the division.They have a better than 99% chance of finishing in first place, according to Fangraphs’ computer models.

And while half the schedule is still left to play, they have eliminated almost all drama from what had been a close division battle in the season’s opening months.All that could really trip them up at this point? Another extended slump like they went through this time last year, when an identical nine-game division lead evaporated between July 4 and Aug.13, putting the Dodgers briefly in second place before they stabilized down the stretch and went on to win a second consecutive World Series.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story But if a similar collapse doesn’t happen now, when the Padres will have repeated chances to cut directly into the Dodgers’ comfortable NL West lead, well … you can probably start printing the division title T-shirts and planning for home-field advantage in October.This year’s Dodgers, after all, don’t seem as susceptible as last year’s squad.And these Padres, even coming off a sweep of the Braves this week, don’t look quite as dangerous, either.Start with the Dodgers: Last year, their 12-21 free fall during July and early August had m...