Dodgers Dominate Cardinals in Shutout Win

The best team in the National League this season is the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have a massive lead in the division and will make the playoffs very easily. They coasted to a very easy win on Monday night at Dodger Stadium in front of 45,200 fans. They beat the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-0 behind the stellar pitching of Tony Gonsolin. It was only his second start of the year. He only allowed two hits and no runs during his six innings of work. The result of the game was never in doubt.

The game had much more meaning for the Cardinals. They are currently trailing the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central division by 2 1/2 games. They need to win the division in order to avoid the uncertainty of a wild card spot. The two wild card teams are forced to play a single game that will determine which one will move on. It goes without saying that no team wants their entire season to come down to one game. However, that will be the situation that the Cardinals will find themselves in unless they can overtake the Cubs.

The Dodgers are in a very enviable position. They know that there is no way that any of the other teams in their division can catch them. However, having a very easy last two months of the season could create a big problem once the playoffs begin in October. It can sometimes be very tough for a team to turn it on all of a sudden and start playing games that matter after several months of meaningless games. That is what the Dodgers will be forced to do. It will be up to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to prevent that sort of thing from happening. He said that he is not concerned about his team having a letdown after not having any pressure to make the playoffs.

The Dodgers have done everything a team needs to do to win games. They have the lowest combined earned run average of any starting rotation in the National League. They also have a few hitters who are having monster years. Everything seems to be clicking. They have been able to avoid any key injuries that have derailed so many great teams in the past. It remains to be seen how the team will perform in the playoffs.