NL West-leading Dodgers face Mets in important series

It is a Little League move that rarely works, but the Dodgers' Juan Uribe nevertheless was victimized recently at third base with the old hidden ball trick. Fortunately, for the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers -- the team has now won 37 of its last 45 games -- Uribe's baserunning faux pas was seemingly the only Dodger mistake during the team's sweep of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this past weekend.

With so many things going well for the Boys in Blue, the looming danger of overconfidence could take root. In order to avoid such a problem, the team will need to focus on its upcoming series against the Mets, and with good reason, as LA is trying to finish in first place not only in the NL West, but also across the entire National League.

With the Dodgers lead in the NL West stretching to 7.5 games, Los Angeles' 67 wins puts them within striking distance of both Pittsburgh (70) and Atlanta (72 wins).

One key to the Dodgers continuing their strong run will be the health of stars Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp, both of whom have battled injuries all season.

The Mets, meanwhile, have had problems of their own, as team captain David Wright was sidelined by a hamstring injury this month, and the organization also was rocked by the steroids-related suspensions of two minor leaguers. Wright’s spot has been filled-in by 22-year-old Wilmer Flores, who batted .321 at Triple A.

Indeed, the Mets come into Dodger Stadium on a two-game winning streak themselves, and are 6-4 over their last 10. Given New York's recent success, complacency would be one thing the Dodgers must avoid.

Tonight righty Ricky Nolasco (8-9, 3.65 ERA) will take the hill for the Dodgers when he goes up against the Mets Jenrry Mejia ( 1-1, 1.96ERA).

Tuesday's matchup figures to be more intriguing, as Mets' ace Matt Harvey takes on impressive LA rookie left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu.

The series will conclude Wednesday with Mets righty Dillon Gee facing Dodgers lefty Chris Capuano.

By Joseph Hammond
Contributing Writer for The Daily Sports Herald