The Dodgers may have stumbled in Atlanta, but the road ahead is lined with soft landings.
After getting swept by the Braves, a rough trip that followed Milwaukee’s three-out-of-four punch in Los Angeles two weeks earlier, the Dodgers now face a stretch that looks far friendlier on paper. Over the last 18 days, they’ve already taken care of business against lighter competition, sweeping the Royals and Rockies and adding another sweep of the Pirates, and the remainder of the regular season tilts that way again.
That’s especially important given where the Dodgers stand against the league’s best. Against the other six teams with top-seven records in the National League - the Brewers, Braves, Cubs, Phillies, Padres and Diamondbacks - they are 23-25. Against all MLB teams currently at .500 or better, they’re 31-35.
“Honestly, I’m not too concerned about it. I know we’ve got a good ball club.
Baseball is one of those things where how you’re playing, who you’re playing, and how they’re playing at a point in time,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday in Atlanta. “I didn’t know that statistic, but I’ll still take our team against any of those winning teams.
I think it just comes down to us, we’ve just got to play good, winning baseball.”
And the schedule does give them a chance to stack wins. The Dodgers’ final 28 games include only six against teams with winning records: the Marlins and Padres. If the Cardinals finish this weekend with a winning home series against the Pirates, that number rises to nine games against opponents at .500 or better.
Here’s what’s left:
August 28-30 at Tigers (currently 62-71)
September 1-3 vs. Cardinals (67-68)
September 4-6 vs. Nationals (63-73)
September 7-9 vs. Reds (63-71)
September 11-13 a Marlins (68-66)
September 14-17 at Reds (63-71)
September 18-20 vs. Giants (55-79)
September 22-24 vs. Padres (72-62)
September 25-27 at Giants (55-79)
The contrast with the Dodgers’ rivals is hard to miss. The Braves still have 13 games against the Phillies, Rays and Cubs in September, along with road series against the Marlins and the .500-adjacent Astros. The Brewers have nine games left against the Cubs and Phillies, plus a series with the Cardinals.
What happens in October will still decide everything that matters. But over these next four and a half weeks, the Dodgers have a real chance to strengthen their position and improve their odds of landing one of the top two seeds in the National League postseason.
In Other News...
Dodgers Prospect Is Making Himself Hard To Ignore Amid Farm System Shakeup
The Dodgers farm system had a little of everything on Thursday, with the upper levels taking some hits while the lower levels supplied the brighter moments. Triple-A Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa both ended the day with losses, but High-A Great Lakes got a lift from Charles Davalan, who homered in the Loons win over the Lugnuts and continued to make his name worth tracking in an organization that is constantly shuffling talent up and down the ladder.
There was plenty of movement elsewhere, too, which is part of life in this system when injuries and promotions start rippling through the roster. Tulsa activated left-hander Wyatt Crowell from the injured list, Oklahoma City put Landon Knack on the injured list, and reliever Seth Halvorsen was summoned to the major league club, leaving the next wave of prospects with a little more room to push for attention. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Keep Sending A Tough Message About Hyeseong Kim
Hyeseong Kim arrived with enough intrigue to make him one of the more closely watched names in the Dodgers system, but his path has not followed the tidy arc many expected when Los Angeles signed him to a four-year, $12.5 million deal. Instead, he opened the 2026 season back in Triple-A, where his contact skills and speed have remained part of the package, even as the extra-base impact the Dodgers were hoping for has been slow to show up. Through 72 Triple-A games, the profile is still more about batting average and stolen bases than damage at the plate.
For the Dodgers, the message has been pretty clear whenever the big league roster has needed a fill-in: they have chosen other options. Kim has gotten only limited major league playing time, and the clubs handling of those injury replacements has only sharpened the question of where he fits long term. The offseason could bring another layer to that conversation, with a trade becoming part of the discussion if the Dodgers decide his best path is no longer in Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Add Intriguing Infield Depth As Wild Card Pressure Builds
The Dodgers have already leaned on a deep cast this season, cycling through 29 pitchers and 22 position players as injuries have kept catcher Will Smith and infielder Tommy Edman out of the mix at different points. Along the way, the club moved on from catcher Chuckie Robinson and infielder Santiago Espinal, two veterans who quickly found new homes after clearing waivers and hitting the market.
Robinson has since turned up with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers in the Braves system, while Espinal landed in the Diamondbacks organization and has already gotten game action with their minor league club. For Los Angeles, it is another reminder of how fragile depth can be this time of year, especially with the stretch run tightening for teams chasing a Wild Card spot and every roster move carrying a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]