Despite ending August by being swept by the Dodgers, ESPN still has the Diamondbacks at #13 overall in this week’s power rankings.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Showing a steady climb, Arizona has moved up in the rankings for three consecutive weeks; they were last ranked 12th. Just before their series against the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks had an impressive record of 12-3 in their last 15 games.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers, who are the hottest team in baseball right now, humbled the Diamondbacks rather quickly.
From ESPN: “The D-backs have taken some major steps forward this year, but the gap between them and the Dodgers is still really wide, especially in recent weeks. There’s no better evidence of that than watching their two best pitchers by far struggle mightily against them.”
The Diamondbacks even had their two best pitchers start the series for them. Additionally, if Arizona had taken at least two games, they would have won the season series against the Dodgers for the first time since 2018.
Instead, with a sweep, the Diamondbacks are now 7-31 in Dodger Stadium over the past five years.
Shifting gears, the Diamondbacks are transitioning from facing the best team in the National League to taking on the top team in the American League, the Baltimore Orioles, in a three-game series starting Friday. This matchup hasn’t occurred since 2019.
Arizona will enter this series .5 games behind the Giants for the third Wild Card spot. 28 games remain on the schedule for the Diamondbacks.
