Dodgers get their rudest awakening yet with Phillies clinching NL East in LA

When the Dodgers' last series against the Padres ended on Aug. 24, the rest of their schedule was supposed to be something of a breeze. Their next six series were against the Reds, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Orioles, Rockies, and Giants, five of whom were below-.500 teams at the time. The only serious projected challenger was the Phillies, who basically already had the NL East in hand by that point.

The Dodgers went ahead and spoiled opportunities against the Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Orioles Despite a sweep of the Rockies, it felt like they were coming into their series against Philadelphia battered and bruised.

The Phillies, on the other hand, were on a tear. Going into Monday's game, they'd won eight of their last 10 and improved their record to .596. A win in LA would allow them to clinch the NL East.

And that's exactly what they did, and the Dodgers let themselves get utterly embarrassed in the process. In what could've been a thrilling and much-needed extra-innings win over Philly, the Dodgers' bullpen fell apart once again, and then the offense couldn't step up in the bottom of the 10th to get the job done. This, by the way, happened after the Phillies dealt with some pretty crazy travel issues with no day off between Sunday and Monday.

The last time the Phillies clinched the NL East in LA was in 2008, the last time the franchise went on to win the World Series.

Dodgers fall apart in extras to allow Phillies to clinch NL East in LA

The Dodgers went to lefty opener Anthony Banda, who was tasked with taking down lefties Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, batting second and third in the Phillies' lineup. He got his first out with a strikeout on Harrison Bader, then promptly gave up a solo homer to Schwarber and walked Harper before being yanked.

Mookie Betts tied the game in the third with a sac fly; Max Muncy put the Dodgers ahead in the fifth with a solo shot of his own; and then Betts came through again with another sac fly. Emmet Sheehan, the Dodgers' long reliever for the day, kept things under control until the seventh, when he gave up a leadoff ground-rule double to Otto Kemp. Jack Dreyer replaced Sheehan, and the Phillies had the lead again on a Bryson Stott RBI single and Weston Wilson two-run homer by the end of the inning.

They traded blows from there. Betts homered, Harper homered, and then Andy Pages homered to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Blake Treinen replaced Tanner Scott, and after a double steal for Bader and Harper, JT Realmuto sent a sweeper on the outside corner just deep enough into center field to allow Bader to score. In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers had runners on the corners with just one out, but Miguel Rojas popped out and Muncy grounded out to hand the game over to the Phillies.

The Dodgers can still walk away from this series with a win, but the opener was yet another reminder (as if fans needed any more of those) that LA's roster is stunningly flawed, and if they can't withstand competition from real contenders in the regular season, their postseason will be doomed.