The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of a soft part of their schedule, having played the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers in consecutive series.
The Dodgers now continue the second half of their homestand against an underachieving Philadelphia Phillies club before traveling to Chase Field to take on yet another last-place team in the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Since the start of the stretch, L.A. has gained two games on the first-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West standings. They enter play Monday only one game behind their rival and conceivably could leapfrog them this week.