國聯西區比賽對道奇隊來說是最好的事情

過去兩個十月，聖地亞哥教士隊和亞利桑那響尾蛇隊並沒有為道奇隊帶來任何好處，毫不客氣地將他們踢出了季後賽。

The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks did the Los Angeles Dodgers no favors the past two Octobers, kicking them out of the postseason unceremoniously.

過去兩個十月，聖地亞哥教士隊和亞利桑那響尾蛇隊並沒有為洛杉磯道奇隊帶來任何好處，毫不客氣地將他們踢出了季後賽。

But those same two teams might be doing the Dodgers a favor now.

但同樣的兩支球隊現在可能正在幫道奇隊一個忙。

The Padres and Diamondbacks are pushing the Dodgers in the National League West like they have rarely been pushed while winning 10 of the past 11 division titles. And the Dodgers are welcoming it.

教士隊和響尾蛇隊在國家聯盟西部向道奇隊發起進攻，他們在過去 11 個分區冠軍中贏得了 10 個冠軍，這是他們很少被逼迫的。道奇隊對此表示歡迎。

“This is my second year here, and last year we kind of ran away with the division,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said. “It was really easy, and I know these guys are used to that. They win over 100 games every single year. Having someone chasing you is always a good motivation to continue to hold the lead. Teams that want to go to the World Series, they need to play good at the end of the year. I’m not saying that we haven’t played good at the end of the year, but we haven’t played with this pressure lately.

「這是我來這裡的第二年，去年我們有點落後了，」老將內野手米格爾·羅哈斯說。 「這真的很容易，我知道這些人已經習慣了。他們每年贏得超過 100 場比賽。有人追趕你總是一個很好的動力，讓你繼續保持領先。想要進入世界大賽的球隊，他們需要在年底發揮出色。我並不是說我們在年底打得不好，但我們最近沒有在這種壓力下打球。

“I can talk about last year. I mean, September felt like you didn’t have anything to play for. This year, we’ve got a different motivation – to hold the lead and win the division.”

「我可以談談去年的事情。我的意思是，九月感覺你沒有什麼好玩的。今年，我們有不同的動力——保持領先並贏得分區冠軍。

A year ago, the Dodgers won the division by 16 games, holding a double-digit lead from mid-August on. After 128 games in 2022 (the same point in the season the Dodgers reached Tuesday), they led the division by 19½ games. At the same point in 2019 and 2017, the lead was 20 games.

一年前，道奇隊以 16 勝的優勢贏得了分區冠軍，從 8 月中旬開始就保持著兩位數的領先優勢。 2022 年打完 128 場比賽後（道奇隊週二也達到了該賽季的同一分），他們領先分區 19.5 場。 2019年和2017年同一時刻，領先優勢都是20場。

This year, the lead is four games (3½ if the Padres win Thursday night).

今年，領先優勢為 4 場（如果教士隊週四晚上獲勝，則領先 3.5 場）。

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux said. “It forces a sense of urgency with everyone. Every game you play is meaningful. I think in years past where we’ve kind of cruised the last six weeks of the season, now you feel you kind of like you have to win every game. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. I think it creates a sense of urgency which probably helps in the long run, especially in October.”

「我不認為這是一件壞事，」道奇隊二壘手加文·勒克斯說。 「這讓每個人都產生了緊迫感。你玩的每場比賽都有意義。我想在過去的幾年裡，我們在賽季的最後六週表現得很好，現在你覺得你必須贏得每場比賽。我認為這根本不是一件壞事。我認為這會產生一種緊迫感，從長遠來看可能會有所幫助，尤其是在十月。

By this time most seasons, the Dodgers could have nothing on their minds but October. They talked up the virtues of clinching early those years – resting players, letting injured players heal and setting up the pitching staff for the postseason.

到了大多數賽季的這個時候，道奇隊除了十月之外就沒有其他事情了。他們談到了那些年早期鎖定勝局的好處——讓球員休息，讓受傷的球員痊癒，並為季後賽做好投手的準備。

“You know, I think you can look at it both ways,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Being in a real pennant race I think certainly brings out the best in individuals, teams, I think. The other side of the coin is, you just don’t have the luxury of resting guys or not kind of red-lining certain guys because every game is even more magnified. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

「你知道，我認為你可以從兩個方面來看待它，」道奇隊經理戴夫羅伯茨說。 「我認為參加真正的三角旗比賽肯定會激發個人和團隊的最佳表現。硬幣的另一面是，你沒有足夠的時間讓球員休息，也沒有給某些球員設定紅線，因為每場比賽都更加放大。這不一定是好事。

“I look at it as it’s a good thing for us and as we deal with Freddie (Freeman and his injured finger) and other guys coming back. Some other guys … because of necessity, they have really stepped up for us. They’ll be able to get back to their individual role which will be better for them. But overall, I mean, you play this game for competition and we’re in a competition for the next month.”

「我認為這對我們來說是一件好事，因為我們要處理弗雷迪（弗里曼和他受傷的手指）和其他回來的人。其他一些人……因為必要，他們確實為我們挺身而出。他們將能夠回到自己的個人角色，這對他們來說更好。但總的來說，我的意思是，你玩這款遊戲是為了競爭，我們將在下個月進行競爭。

That creates a sense of urgency. In past years while running away with the division, the Dodgers had to manufacture their own sense of urgency.

這會產生一種緊迫感。在過去的幾年裡，當道奇隊與分區賽跑時，他們必須創造自己的緊迫感。

“It’s not the same. It’s not the same,” Roberts admitted. “But I just don’t know if there’s a right or wrong. It’s just kind of how it plays out and if you win a World Series or not. What’s the right way to get there?”

「這不一樣。這不一樣，」羅伯茨承認。 「但我只是不知道這是對還是錯。這只是事情的結果以及你是否贏得世界大賽的方式。到達那裡的正確方法是什麼？

It hasn’t been the right way in recent years. The Dodgers ran away with the division in 2019, 2022 and 2023 then lost in the first round of the playoffs each year.

近年來，這不是正確的方法。道奇隊在2019年、2022年和2023年都贏得了分區冠軍，然後每年都在季後賽首輪失利。

But veteran reliever Daniel Hudson isn’t ready to draw conclusions.

但老將中繼投手丹尼爾·哈德森還沒準備好下結論。

“It’s fricking baseball,” Hudson said. “You can look at it from multiple angles and think one way is better than the other. But at the end of the day, our game is so fricking flukey sometimes that you just have a rough stretch where things don’t go your way and all of a sudden you’re out in three games in the division series. And then people are, ‘Oh, if they were playing meaningful games on Sept. 30 then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.’ But it can still happen that way too. You can run into a hot pitching staff, a hot lineup and (stuff) happens. It’s unlike any other sport. There’s just so much stuff that can happen that you can’t really predict.

「這真是棒極了的棒球，」哈德森說。 「你可以從多個角度看待它，並認為一種方法比另一種方法更好。但歸根結底，我們的比賽有時太他媽的僥倖了，以至於你會經歷一段艱難的時期，事情不會按照你的方式發展，突然間你在分區系列賽的三場比賽中就出局了。然後人們就會說，“哦，如果他們在 9 月 30 日玩有意義的遊戲，那麼也許這一切就不會發生。”但這種情況仍然可能發生。你可能會遇到炙手可熱的投手、炙手可熱的陣容，然後（事情）就會發生。它不同於任何其他運動。可能發生的事情太多了，你無法真正預測。

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