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Still, for a Dodgers staff that has been shorthanded — leaving the club without the luxury of starting Yamamoto only once a week — it has been a marked drop-off, coming at a time when their once three-game lead in a competitive NL West has quickly evaporated amid a grueling stretch of the schedule.

In a win over the Padres that kept the Dodgers in sole possession of first place of the NL West entering another key series this weekend against the San Francisco Giants, Casparius responded with quality production.

They claimed a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday to win for the second time in their three-game series at Petco Park, preserving their lead in the NL West.

Provided a couple of their starting pitchers return as anticipated, the Dodgers should be able to not just win their division but also secure a top-two seed in the NL, which would give them a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Again, this was nothing new, as Roberts basically forfeited games in both the NL Championship Series and World Series last year with the remainder of the series in mind.