Dodgers Dugout: L.A. is in catbird’s seat after sweeping Giants

Hi, welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I knew all along the Dodgers would cruise to the division title and win the World Series.

Giants go home as losers

In the most important series of the season, the Dodgers stepped up and swept the San Francisco Giants, with the bullpen winning the first game and Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw looking like the two best pitchers in the galaxy in games two and three. The Dodgers now have a 6 ½ game lead in the NL West with 30 games to play, putting their magic number to win the division at 24. Look at it like this: If the Dodgers go 15-15 the rest of the way, the Giants will have to go 21-8 just to tie. Not impossible, but very unlikely. Kershaw pitched a complete game Wednesday night in the 2-1 victory, striking out 15. Afterward, Don Mattingly explained why he sometimes pulls Kershaw in the seventh or eighth inning in games he is winning easily: “It's for games like this. Trying to save the bullets.”

Kershaw and Greinke

Are they having the best season of any 1-2 duo Dodgers history? Combined, they are 27-9 with a 1.89 ERA and 420 strikeouts in 380 2/3 innings. Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale’s best season together was probably 1964, when they went 37-11 with a 2.00 ERA and 460 strikeouts in 554 1/3 innings. No matter which duo you pick, you are comparing greatness to greatness, so let’s just declare the Dodgers and their fans the winners and move on.

Mattingly to Miami?

Just when Mattingly gets a chance to relax, a story comes out that the Miami Marlins not only are unlikely to bring back Dan Jennings as manager but they have great interest in getting Mattingly to take over. Mattingly has one year left on his contract, so unless the Dodgers fire him, which will probably depend on how far the team gets in the playoffs, Miami would have to give the Dodgers something in return for letting Mattingly leave early.

Remember, in 2013 there was a fun Dodgers news conference where Mattingly looked terribly annoyed, saying he did not want to return if he only had one year left on his deal. The Dodgers extended his contract soon after. After this season, Mattingly will have one year left on his deal. If they win the World Series, the Dodgers extend his deal and everything is solved. If they don’t, well, the off-season just got a whole lot more interesting. How about Giancarlo Stanton for Mattingly?

Give the devil his due

As you know, I have been critical of Chris Hatcher all season, and with good reason. Before he went on the DL in the middle of June, he was 1-4 with a 6.38 ERA. However, since coming back, he has been outstanding, going 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA, including a strong three innings against the Giants in Monday’s 14-inning marathon. He has given up only five hits and struck out 11 in 8 1/3 innings since returning.

Bolsinger is back

The Dodgers brought Mike Bolsinger back from the minors on Sept. 1 when the rosters expanded, and said he will start against the Padres during their four-game series, which beings tonight. Bolsinger was sent down to the minors despite a 5-3 record and 2.83 ERA when the Dodgers acquired Mat Latos and Alex Wood at the trade deadline. Latos was horrible in three starts, and fans called for Bolsinger’s return. He should have been with the team all along, and it would be great to see him be a key contributor down the stretch.

Seager’s here

The Dodgers brought up top prospect Corey Seager from the minors on Thursday, and he will be in San Diego tonight for the start of the series. You have to figure they plan to play him at least some, but with the team in the middle of a hot streak, I wouldn’t look for him to take over the shortstop role quite yet. CBSSports.com has a nice piece: Five things you need to know about Corey Seager.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on to him. Here’s his latest response:

Ken Elkins: Why don't the Dodgers play a "manufacturing  runs" offense: Aggressive  baseball, hit & run, stealing bases, delayed steals, run & hit, bunting, including suicide squeezes, trying to take extra bases on  hits, simply trying to get the defensive team throwing the ball around more. That disrupts the pitcher's rhythm and timing.

Ross: Don Mattingly played in the American League and manages like he did. It's been said AL skippers are looking for the three-run homer, and are fearful of running themselves out of an inning. The truth is the Dodgers don't have much speed. As I field your question, Ken, the Dodgers are 29th among the 30 major league teams in stolen bases with 41 in 132 games and 29th in stolen-base percentage with  a success rate of 59%. Jimmy Rollins has 10 steals. No one else on the team has more than six.

And finally

Times sports columnist Helene Elliott wrote a great column on Vin Scully recently. Go read it here.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston.