And there it is. A sweep of the San Diego Padres in what was supposed to be a battle for the NL West. In the end, the Los Angeles Dodgers handled business fairly easily and now have a two-game lead after disposing of their rivals.
But it wasn't all that simple. The Dodgers were supposed to be cruising at this point in the season. The upstart San Francisco Giants faded. The battered Arizona Diamondbacks sold. Meanwhile, the Dodgers withstood injuries that would've crippled lesser teams in the early going and got their pair of aces back heading into the trade deadline with an opportunity to add even more talent and secure their lead position in the division down the stretch.