Visits: 0
The 2021 MLB season is in full swing, with each team already playing more than 70 games from a planned 162. Reigning World Series champions, Los Angeles Dodgers, occupy second place in the NL West, 3.0 games behind the San Francisco Giants. Can the Dodgers win back-to-back World Series for the first time in their 132-year history?
It is an excellent time to be a sports fan from Los Angeles, especially if baseball or basketball is your passion. The Los Angeles Clippers are through to the NBA Conference Finals, although they trail 2-0 to the Phoenix Suns, and the latest NBA betting odds suggest the Clippers will fail to reach the championship final. In the MLB, the Dodgers have posted a .603 record through 73 games and are the overall favorites to win the 2021 World Series.
An Incredible World Series Winning Season
The Dodgers are hunting for what will be their ninth straight NL West Division title. The Dodgers shone brighter than the sun during the coronavirus hit 2020 season. MBL officials reduced the season to a 60-game schedule, with the world being amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dodgers kicked their season off in spectacular style, beating the San Francisco Giants 8-1 and 9-1 in the opening two games of the campaign. July ended with a rather disappointing 5-3 overall record, but the Dodgers put their foot on the gas in August and posted a 21-7 win-loss record.
In September, four straight wins saw the Dodgers’ record improve to 30-10, matching the best 40-game start in the franchise’s history. They ended the regular season 43-17 (.717) and would have won 116 games if they had continued that form through a 162-games season. That would have matched the outstanding 1906 Chicago White Sox and the 2001 Seattle Mariners record.
They went on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves before defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 to clinch the World Series.
A Flying Start to 2021
It looked like the 2021 Dodgers were carrying on where the 2020 team left off because they went 13-2 through the first 15 games of the season. The next 12 games, however, saw the Dodgers go 3-9 to end April 16-11.
May saw the Dodgers post the same 16-11, with June seeing them go 12-7 through June 22.
Some tricky fixtures are coming up for the Dodgers, and they need to be careful not to slide further behind the Giants. They lost back-to-back (2-6 and 2-3) against the San Diego Padres and play them again on June 23. They then host the Chicago Cubs (.554), tied for the top spot in the NL Central. Two games against the high-flying Giants (0.644) round off June.
The first 11 games of July should, in theory at least, allow the Dodgers to put some pressure on the Giants. They travel to the Washington Nationals (0.486) for four games before remaining on the road at the Miami Marlins (0.431) for a quartet of fixtures. Dodgers return home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks (0.280) three times before a week’s break for the 91st All-Star Game.
A trio of winnable games at the Colorado Rockies (0.405) takes the Dodgers to Game 95, where the Giants lay in wait. By this time, we will have a much better idea if the Dodgers have what it takes to become back-to-back World Series champions.
Dodgers Are The Experts’ Favorite For Glory
Baseball experts the world over believe the Dodgers will win the 2021 World Series. The Dodgers tasted glory last season for the first time since 1988, and they are not prepared to wait for another 32-years to win another title.
Their 0.603 record places them second in the NL West but would be enough to top every other division except the AL West, where the Houston Astros are 0.616.
The baseball season is long, and there is still more than half of it yet to play. Dodgers have a deep, strong roster, and it should be enough to see Dodgers fan celebrating again come late October.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login