Positioning, totality of trip make LA loss sting less

PHOENIX — The Dodgers concluded their 10-game, three-city road trip with a wild 10-9 walk-off loss to the D-backs in 12 innings on Sunday, and they still moved closer to a fourth consecutive division title as the Giants also lost.

That last part, which cut the magic number to nine, made Brandon Drury’s game-ending single easier for the Dodgers to swallow.

“It does,” conceded manager Dave Roberts. “Where we’re at right now in the win-loss column in the standings (five in front with 13 games to play), we’ve put ourselves in a good position. This has been a long road trip. Where we’re at in the year, it was a tough one to get through. For us to get through it the way we did (5-5) is encouraging. We’ve been waiting for this series for a while, and we’re playing good baseball.”

“This series,” of course, is the showdown with the Giants that opens at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, the first of six head-to-head matches between the clubs that Roberts said before the game offers his team …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com