If the Dodgers do miss the playoffs this season -- as they would if the season ended today -- there will be several different areas to point to as the culprits. The 16-26 start after being swept at home by the Reds then losing two to the Marlins is a problem area. Losing Corey Seager for the season and the pitching staff being riddled with injuries are also up there. 

What about this past series against the Cardinals? That could well end up being the dagger. We'll see. There are still 34 games left in the season. That's a pretty short span for a team now facing an uphill battle to win their sixth straight division title. It's become pretty commonplace to see them in the NLDS and now they either might miss it or need to win the NL Wild Card Game to get there. 

The Dodgers trail the Diamondbacks by 4 1/2 games and the Rockies by three games. They are four games behind the Cardinals for the top wild-card spot and 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers for the second wild card. The Rockies and Phillies are in the way, too. 

For much of the season, the Dodgers have been the favorite to win the division by all projection models. That is changing.

  • SportsLine has the Dodgers with a 37.8 percent chance to win the West, compared to 42.2 percent for the Diamondbacks. 
  • Fangraphs has the Dodgers wtih a 33.7 percent chance to win the West, compared to 43.3 percent for the Diamondbacks.
  • Baseball Prospectus is even less bullish. It has the Dodgers with a 22.1 percent chance to win the NL West, while the Rockies are ahead at 23.8 percent and the Diamondbacks are at 54.1 percent. 

It's easy to see when the swing happened. The Dodgers had a one-game lead after a blowout win on Aug. 2. Since then, they have lost 12 of their last 18 and now it's nine of their last 12. Since Aug. 2, only the Marlins have a worse record among NL teams. 

Now, the Dodgers do have the talent to turn things around and the schedule gives a decent chance. The start a three-game series against the Padres Friday and then have a two-game series against the Rangers in Texas. That's a chance to go 4-1 and possibly trim some of the NL West and/or wild-card deficits. 

After that, the Dodgers face the Diamondbacks in a four-game series in Dodger Stadium with a chance to do some nice head-to-head damage. 

Overall, the Dodgers have some decent head-to-head chances: 

  • Seven games remain with Arizona.
  • Six remain against the Rockies.
  • Four remain against the Cardinals.

The rest of the games are against the Padres, Rangers, Mets, Reds and then they close with three against what's left of the Giants. 

It's an uphill battle and the odds aren't favorable, but it's definitely doable. The Dodgers look broken right now, but there's still time and the schedule presents them the opportunities to make up ground.