Week Ahead: How will the NL West be won?

By the end of the week ahead, the Major League Baseball season will officially enter late August, and these are crucial times for teams all over the American and National Leagues. Soon we’ll be in September. Soon the final homestretch kicks in and we’ll see who has what it takes to play in October.

The Dodgers are feeling it, with one pitcher after another getting banged up. The latest had Sunday starter Brett Anderson coming off the disabled list with back problems only to pitch one inning and hurt his wrist. Los Angeles already has an entire rotation’s worth of pitchers on the DL in Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Bud Norris, but when it comes down to the late-season nitty gritty, there are no excuses. You’ve got to find a way to hang in the standings.

Los Angeles is doing exactly that. Despite its painful loss to the Pirates on Sunday, its still within a game of the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, and the perennial rivals are battling in one of the tightest races in baseball.

This week, the Giants might have the better draw, with seven home games on the docket. San Francisco will host the Pirates for three games and the Mets for four as it tries to pull away from the hurting Dodgers. Meanwhile, Los Angeles must travel to Philadelphia and Cincinnati for two important three-game series on the road while …

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