Pitching/Batting Efficiencies: NL West

The Dodgers and Padres are elite, and certainly on track to meet again in the postseason as the two best teams in the NL. What about SF and the others?

Weekend series in San Diego: The two National League powerhouses proved that they are atop the league in almost every way, and each game was thrilling. The Dodgers took the first two games and won the series, with the Padres rebounding on Sunday in a 5-2 win. The pitching duels were real, and the first game on Friday ended with the Dodgers pouring it on in the 12th inning, scoring six runs. Kershaw and Darvish had an incredible battle through their respective outings, and the only run allowed by either was a Clayton Kershaw plate appearance with the bases loaded, and Yu Darvish walked him to score a run. The Padres got the last laugh in game three after breaking open a tie game late. Get ready for 16 more games between San Diego and LA.

The Giants are batting with the best of the big leagues, but their pitching has been very poor. Expanded postseason hopes should very well be alive, and San Francisco is miles ahead of Arizona and Colorado in the division prospectus.

The previously noted bottomfeeders in the division have shown their inability to win games early, and the same thing will continue if they can't get their bottom ten ERAs to shape up soon. Both teams are clearly rebuilding and won't be able to keep up with the other squads out west.

See the numbers below.

Charting accurate as of games through April 17th.

The Rockies and Dbacks are clearly too high up on the invisible Y axis that represents pitching, and the Giants are close to the juggernauts in ERA, but not BA. The Dodgers have the best net rating in the majors, and the Padres have the best ERA. It's crazy that two teams in the same division are perhaps the two best teams in MLB.