DETROIT —
For almost any other team in the Dodgers’ position, the first half of the season would have been a flying success.
They hold a seven-game lead in the National League West. They have the NL’s highest-scoring offense. And according to Fangraphs, they have the second-best odds of any MLB club of winning the World Series, with a nearly 15% probabilit,y per the outlet’s analytic computer models.
This Dodgers’ team, however, carries far loftier expectations.
Which is why, after suffering a wave of recent injuries and playing .500 ball for much of the last two months, they’ve been simply trying to “weather a storm,” as manager Dave Roberts put it, and get to what feels like a much-needed midseason break.