by Aeden Alexander, Sports Editor

After two thrilling games, the Dodgers are midway through their National League Divisional Series (NLDS) run against National League West division champion and rival the San Francisco Giants.

It’s not every year that a team like the Dodgers win 106 games and only come second in their division needing to play a Wild Card game, but that was the case this year as the Giants would win 107 and go on to secure a playoff spot and the division title.

The Dodgers and Giants rivalry has been one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. The two teams have met thousands of times and no matter how much better one team is compared to the other, they figure out ways to make the games close and competitive.

But, even with all the regular season battles, this year is the first time the Dodgers and Giants have met in the postseason. The amazing part about this matchup is the fact that the two teams are polar opposites.

The Dodgers have a team full of stars with the highest payroll in all of baseball. Meanwhile, the Giants have a much younger core with a few veterans leading the charge.

The NLDS is a five game series, and the pair have already competed twice thus far. It’s safe to say both games were action-packed and high scoring, as the run total of just two games has come to a staggering 15 runs.

The first two games took place in San Francisco, which ended with the series being tied 1-1. The teams will now head to Los Angeles, where they will play two more games and then finish in San Francisco if necessary.

The first game the Giants completely out played the Dodgers winning 4-0. The game consisted of many high points for the Giants, as well as many low ones for Los Angeles. For the Giants, their starting pitcher was rookie Logan Webb who made his postseason debut and hushed the Dodgers offense.

He would go on to throw 7.2 innings giving up five hits, zero walks and no runs while also finishing with a grand total of ten strikeouts. Their bullpen would then finish the game allowing zero hits and would earn Webb the win.

The next game, however, the Dodgers flipped the switch. Los Angeles starter Julio Urias would have an exceptional start, going five innings while giving up only one run on three hits. 

But, what really shined was the offense, the Dodgers would put up eleven hits with struggling all-star Cody Bellinger having two RBI’s on one hit after being in a slump for some time.

The Dodgers would win this game 9-2. They are now perfectly set up to come home and look to finish the series in the next two games. This was exactly what the Dodgers needed to stay locked in on winning and not on the opponent. 

The third game will be held at Dodger Stadium at 6:37pm on tonight.