From Contenders to Favorites

[Originally published on YurkdogRadio.com]

There’s a reason the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez and the Angels’ Vladimir Guerrero hit cleanup in the batting order: They’re dominant hitters and they come through in the clutch.

But entering Game 3 of their respective divisional series, Manny and Vlad were both blanketed by opposing pitchers – at least by their standards. Through the first three games, Ramirez doubled once in eight plate appearances and Guerrero singled twice in six. Other than that, nothing: no home runs and no RBIs. Still, both their teams held a 2-0 advantage.

Perhaps this isn’t too much of a surprise if you consider their regular-season numbers relative to the successes that the Blue Crew and Halos each achieved. The Dodgers won the NL West and secured the league’s best record despite Manny’s modest .290 batting average, 19 home runs and 63 RBI in 104 games, while the Angels prevailed in the AL West and landed the second-most Major League wins even though Vlad played in just 100 games while batting .295 with 15 home runs and 50 RBI.

Game 3 for the Dominican sluggers, however, was a return to the norm – and a semi-needed sigh of relief for both clubs. Ramirez’s first-inning, two-out double gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, and his seventh-inning, two-out RBI single was the icing on the cake as Los Angeles swept their second straight NLDS. Meanwhile, Guerrero undoubtedly came up with his biggest hit of the year: a ninth-inning, two-out single that plated two runs, put the Angels ahead, 7-6, and ultimately marked the first time Los Angeles of Anaheim defeated Boston in a playoff series.

Before both teams swept their divisional series, the Dodgers and Angels were simply contenders. Now, they may just be the favorites.