How MLB lockout’s canceled games may affect Dodgers playoff standing

Because MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners are playing a PR game, Los Angeles Dodgers fans have lost the first seven games of the season, which featured a homestand against the lowly Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.

If we’re to make educated guesses based on the news and buzz that’s been a product of the ongoing lockout, the Dodgers can expect even more games to be docked because we’re not sure there’s a clear end in sight with regard to the collective bargaining agreement talks.

But let’s be optimistic for a moment. Let’s say the new Opening Day will be April 7. The Dodgers would begin their 2022 campaign the day after in Colorado. Not bad, right?

Well, if we look a little deeper, the cancellation of the season’s first two series could affect LA’s playoff standing as we head down the stretch. And this really isn’t an exaggeration.

How MLB’s lockout that has canceled games will affect the Dodgers

The Dodgers losing seven games against bottom of the barrel MLB teams certainly keeps valuable wins off their ledger, and if their second-place finish with 106 victories didn’t teach you that every single contest matters, then we’re at a loss for words.

On the flip side, the division-rival San Francisco Giants escaped an early-season gauntlet and will get out of two road series against the San Diego Padres (four games) and Milwaukee Brewers (three games) — to teams expected to contend for National League supremacy. Remember, these games will not be rescheduled.

That’s a big swing for the Dodgers and Giants at both ends of the spectrum and even though those are valuable games for San Francisco in the head-to-head department, LA losing what we can expect to be easy wins hurts even more.

Oh, did we forget about the All-Star Game, too? The Dodgers haven’t hosted since 1980 — a season that was nearly threatened by a strike, too! — and saw their opportunity in 2020 get flushed down the drain because of a global pandemic while their 2022 chances are dwindling as talks continue to remain stagnant or go south.

Also, instead of opening the year with seven home games, if talks were to progress and the season actually began after the first two initially scheduled series, the Dodgers will start with five road games (Rockies and Twins) before returning home to face the Reds and Braves.

By no means the end of the world, but the Giants benefitting in any was is as infuriating as it gets.

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