Dodgers Ready to Crush Giants Playoff Hopes as Kershaw Goes for Win #20

Remember 1982, when Joe Morgan took Terry Forster deep and the Giants eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs on the final day of the season? I do. I also remember 1993 when Mike Piazza blasted 2 home-runs, as the Dodgers crushed the Giants 12-1 to eliminate them from the playoffs.

The Dodgers cannot completely eliminate the Giants from the playoffs over the next 3 days, but they can eliminate them from the NL West division race, and also put a serious dent in their Wild Card hopes in the process. Eric Stephen at SB Nation Los Angeles has a great article on the Dodger Giants rivalry and specifically one team destroying the others playoff hopes. It’s definitely worth a read.

You got my feelings on how big of a game this is tonight in my post last night, and I will be very disappointed if Dodger Stadium isn’t rockin’  and if the game isn’t close to being sold out tonight. It’s time to put aside your Frank McCourt hate for one night and watch the best young pitcher in all of Major League Baseball, Clayton Kershaw, take the first step in stomping out the Giants playoff hopes, and winning his 20th game and possibly the Cy Young Award in the process.

Here’s tonight’s Dodgers lineup:

1. Dee Gordon – SS

2. Justin Sellers – 2B

3. Matt ‘MVP’ Kemp – CF

4. Juan Rivera – LF

5. James ‘Rejuvenated’ Loney – 1B

6. Aaron Miles – 3B

7. Jerry Sands – RF

8. Rod Barajas – C

9. Clayton ‘Cy Young’ Kershaw – P

The Giants will have their ace, the ‘skinny hippie’ Tim Lincecum on the mound for them. This sets up to be the biggest game of the season so far for the Dodgers, probably since opening day. So Dodgers fans get out to the stadium, make some noise, and let’s enjoy watching Kershaw drive home the first nail in the Giants playoff coffin. The action begins at 7PM in Los Angeles, the next 3 games are basically the Dodgers playoffs, so Dodgers fans please represent.

BTW call me crazy as Jerry Sands has struck out in 2 of the 3 at-bats that he has faced Tim Lincecum, but my bold prediction for the night is Sands is going to take Lincecum deep. Again statistics and logic would say otherwise but I gotta feeling young Mr. Sands is gonna add his 2nd career Dodger Stadium homer tonight off of Lincecum. That being said he could just as easily go o-for-4 with 4 strike outs but I got this funny feeling that Sands is going yard.