Hernández: For the Dodgers, every game feels like a postseason game

Mookie Bets played three simulated games at Dodger Stadium last week, and that was it. That was the only game action he saw in the last seven weeks recovering from a broken hand.

Instead of sending Betts on a minor league rehab assignment, the Dodger are scheduled to activate him from the injured list on Monday for the start of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The plans reflect both the urgency of his situation and his belief in Betts.

Heading into the series opener at Miller Park, the Dodgers’ lead over the second-place San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West is 3 1/2 games.

“That”, manager David Roberts said, “that’s where we are.”

The last time they had a smaller lead at this point in the year was 2020. In this particular case, of course, they were just 21 games into a pandemic-delayed 60-game season.

These Dodgers played 118 games.

At the same stage of the season last year, the Dodgers led the division in nine games. The year before, they had an 18-game lead.

They fell four games behind in 118 games in 2021 and finished second behind the San Francisco Giants by one game in the NL West.

Could something like this happen again? It’s possible. The Padres have won 16 of their last 19 games and the Diamondbacks have won 15 of their last 18.

Could the Dodgers miss the postseason entirely? Probably not, but it can’t be ruled out either. That’s 7 and a half games ahead of the postseason cut line.

“Obviously, it’s up to us,” said utility player Kiké Hernández. “The rest of the division is playing great baseball and if we keep losing games, they’re going to keep attacking us. At the same time, we can’t really worry about them. Just do what we do. If we win games, they can’t beat us.”

Their lineup is closer to becoming complete again, as third baseman Max Muncy is expected to be activated when they return from their week-long road trip. Its rotation, however, continues to be held together by duct tape.

Read more: Promising Dodgers rookie pitcher River Ryan will miss the rest of the season

Promising rookie right-hander River Ryan will miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury he suffered Saturday night, a development that will force the Dodgers to rely on Walker Buehler whether he is ready to pitch or not. Buehler’s early return from reconstructive elbow surgery was cut short after he went 1-4 with a 5.84 earned run average in eight starts.

With Clayton Kershaw also recovering from injury, Gavin Stone posting a 6.91 ERA in his last six starts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto not expected back until next month, opening day starter Tyler Glasnow and rookie Jack Flaherty are the only sources of rotational stability.

The volatility of starting pitching magnified the shortcomings of the relievers. No lead seems secure, including the division lead.

The upcoming series in Milwaukee will also be critical for another race.

Of the three NL division winners, only two will receive first-round byes in the postseason and advance directly to the divisional round. The division winner with the third-best record will have to play a three-game wild card series against the wild card team with the worst record.

The Dodgers are tied with the East-leading Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the NL, but are just one game ahead of the Central-leading Brewers.

“It speaks to parity in baseball, especially in the National League, which is good for baseball fans,” Roberts said.

Roberts is right: Closeness in the standings to other teams has less to do with the Dodgers and more to do with the competition. The Dodgers are on pace to win 95 games.

While the Dodgers have become accustomed to playing the secretarial role in the NL West — they won their division by 16 games last year and 22 games in 2022 — they were involved in close contests early in Roberts’ tenure.

The Dodgers won the NL West by four games in Roberts’ debut season in 2016. Two years later, they won their division by defeating the Colorado Rockies in a tiebreaker in the 163rd game.

The Dodgers of today have something in common with the Dodgers of the past, Roberts said.

Read more: Plaschke: Hey, Dodgers, stop playing with Mookie Betts

“I think the collective mentality of coming together every day to win a baseball game remains the same, and that’s a superpower,” Roberts said. “Guys don’t rush. They play for each other. They are difficult.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ weekend sweep was an example. In the series finale on Sunday, the Dodgers blew a four-run lead, only to claim a 6-5 victory in the 10th inning.

“Right now, I just think we have to sweat the little things,” Roberts said. “There are little things, even in this game today, that could have impacted the result. In the end we won, we won three, but… we have to tighten some things.”

For the rest of this month, the Dodgers will only play teams with winning records, which could make for an exceptionally intense August and climactic September.

“It’s going to make us better,” Roberts said.

Most years, the season doesn’t start for the Dodgers until they play their first postseason game. This doesn’t happen most years. Their season has already started.

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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.