When the Dodgers took the field at AT&T Park on Friday evening for game one of their three-game series against the Giants trailing the Hated Ones by half a game in the NL West standings, Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully said “It’s not a do-or-die game, but it’s a big one.” The same could have been said for games two and three. And even after sweeping the Giants, the same can be said for each of the three upcoming games against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium beginning on Tuesday, and then the three against the Cubs, and the two against the Angels – and so on and so on.

The point is, the Dodgers have finally reached that point of the season where every game must, absolutely must be played with the same sense of urgency that they showed this past weekend in San Francisco or their tiny 1.5 game lead over the Giants could vanish over the course of two games, it’s as simple as that. Judgement day is now here for all of those games that were lost when it was “still early.” It’s time to pay the piper.

To say that the Dodgers offense finally woke up this past weekend is an understatement; they were smoking hot – and it couldn’t have come at a better time against a better opponent. Excluding the pitcher’s spot, the Dodgers went a collective 31 for 104 (.298) against Messrs. Lincecum, Vogelsong and Peavy. In fact, the only Dodger regular to go 0 for the weekend was catcher A.J. Ellis, who more than carried his weight behind the plate catching the Dodgers overpowering starting pitching staff of Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-jin Ryu. And while Dodger superstar Yasiel Puig garnered the lion’s share of the accolades for his historic three-triple night on Friday, the success that the Dodgers enjoyed this weekend was absolutely a team affair – to the man.

The psychological impact that this guy had on the Giants this weekend was devastating.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Also worthy of recognition is the guy who most Dodger fans wanted to tar and feather in the two series immediately following the All-Star break – Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. If you recall, Mattingly intentionally set his post-ASG rotation with this crucial San Francisco series in mind, even if it meant feeding struggling starters Dan Haren and Josh Beckett to the wolves (or to the Cardinals and Pirates, as it were). To say that Mattingly’s and Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt’s long-term vision was spot-on doesn’t do these men justice; they flat out nailed it. Now granted, the Giants less-than-stellar defense and their sometimes shaky pitching played a big role in the series sweep, but it was the consecutive hitting and the overwhelming pitching that utterly embarrassed the Giants and humiliated their obnoxious fans.

Giants fans may have booed Yasiel Puig every time he came to the plate, but you can bet that they were absolutely terrified of him. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Obviously the Dodgers will still lose a few games between now and the final game of the regular season, but if they can continue to play at the same level that they did this past weekend, there is no reason why they cannot win every remaining series and ultimately the NL West division. Heck, they might even run away with it, although you can bet that the Giants might have something to say about that.