Fastball

National League West Putting Up Incredible Numbers Since All-Star Break

Don't mess with the National League West, apparently!

Brady Farkas

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) gestures after scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Petco Park on Aug 20.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) gestures after scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Petco Park on Aug 20. / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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The National League West is in line to get three teams into the playoffs this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. It didn't always look that way as Arizona and San Diego meandered for the first half of the season before catching fire.

In fact, the whole division has caught fire since the All-Star break, according to @OptaSTATS on social media:

The NL West is a combined 40 games over .500 since the All-Star break (94-54, .635).

No other division even has a winning record over that span.

In just the last 10 games alone, the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks are all 7-3. Even the bottom-feeding Colorado Rockies are 5-5 in their last 10, while the San Francisco Giants are as well.

It's not a surprise to see these teams be good at this point in the year, as they are each getting valuable contributions from guys that weren't contributing earlier. Mookie Betts is back from injury for the Dodgers while Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez are back for Arizona. Furthermore, Corbin Carroll has come out of his season-long slumber recently. With the Padres, they are getting even greater contributions from Rookie of the Year candidate Jackson Merrill.

As for the matchups for the division on Wednesday:

Colorado Rockies @ Washington Nationals

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Seattle Mariners

San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago White Sox

Arizona Diamondbacks @ Miami Marlins

San Diego Padres vs. Minnesota Twins

The Diamondbacks got to the World Series in 2023 while the Padres got to the NLCS in 2022. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2020.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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