The Dodgers are poised to reach the playoffs for the third time in the last four years, but how prepared are they for the postseason, which begins in three weeks?
Not surprisingly, the answer pivots on the effectiveness of the Dodgers' recently expanded lineup of starting pitchers.
Hiroki Kuroda was effective again Wednesday as the right-hander held the Pittsburgh Pirates to one run in six innings, and home runs by Matt Kemp and Ronnie Belliard powered the Dodgers past the Pirates, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium.
The win gave the Dodgers a sweep of their three-game series against Pittsburgh and they maintained the best record (88-59) in the National League and their lead in the NL West.
If they win the division, the Dodgers probably would face either the Philadelphia Phillies -- who beat them in the NL Championship Series last year -- or the St. Louis Cardinals in the first-round divisional series.
Despite their record, questions remain about the strength of the Dodgers' rotation.
Kuroda appears to have recovered nicely after being hit in the head by a line drive Aug. 15 and going on the disabled list. Acknowledging that he was "a little concerned" with how well he would rebound, Kuroda said Wednesday through an interpreter, "I'm pretty much satisfied with the comeback."
Left-hander Randy Wolf, who recently missed a start because of a sore left elbow, pitched seven innings Tuesday night.
But left-hander Clayton Kershaw, 21, remains sidelined because of a separated right shoulder and isn't expected back until later this month.
And Chad Billingsley, 25, is getting an extended rest after losing his last four decisions. The right-hander won't start this weekend against the Giants but might return to the rotation next week, Manager Joe Torre said Wednesday.
It's a baseball axiom that a team can't have enough good pitching. But the Dodgers' situation makes the team's late-season acquisitions of starters Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla look prescient.
"You're saying, OK, now I have six and what are we going to do with them?" Torre said. "Then all of a sudden you don't have six. So it was certainly good luck for us to have that."
Even so, when Torre recently was asked if he has thought about a postseason rotation, he replied: "No, not yet." For now, he said, the goal is to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Offensively, the Dodgers still led the league in batting with a .272 average entering Wednesday's game.
