:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/13874623/20130529_jla_aj4_687.0.jpg)
This week was once again strange and normal for the NL West. The Dodgers played well, the Diamondbacks took the division lead, the Giants and Rockies fell a couple games back of the Dbacks, and the Padres didn't make any big moves in the standings.
Team recaps
Diamondbacks:
Arizona was 4-1 over the past week, took the division lead, and was forced to postpone yesterday's game with the Rangers due to rain. This week, Martin Prado led the Dbacks instead of Paul Goldschmidt.
The Diamondbacks started off the week by taking two of three against the Padres. On Monday, Arizona swept a doubleheader against the Rangers. Prado was on fire this week and finished second in the MLB in batting average (first in the West and second in the NL) when he hit .563 with 9 hits, 3 RBIs, and zero strikeouts.
Rockies:
Colorado was 2-4 this past week and fell 2.5 games back in the standings. The Rockies lost two of three to the Giants and Astros, scoring three runs or fewer in each of their last four games.
Colorado started off the week with a 5-0 win over San Francisco, but then dropped three in a row. The Rockies gave up six runs or more three times, losing each of those games.
Giants:
San Francisco was 2-4 over the past week and fell 2.5 games back in the standings. The Giants won 2 of 3 against the Rockies, but have now lost 3 in a row to the Athletics. San Fran lost 4 of 6 even though their starters gave up on average the same amount of runs per game as the offense scored, 3.8.
The Giants starting pitching was very poor again. San Francisco's starters gave up two runs once, four runs four times, and five runs once. The only pitcher to give up fewer than four runs in a start was Matt Cain on Sunday when he surrendered two to Colorado.
Padres:
San Diego was 3-3 this past week and moved from 4.5 to 6 games back in the standings. The Padres lost two of three to the Diamondbacks and then won two of three against the Mariners.
Once again, San Diego's offense was very inconsistent. The Padres scored two against the Dbacks on Friday, and then ten on Saturday. Two days later, San Diego didn't score at all against Seattle, losing 9-0. The Padres surrendered on average more runs (4.5) per game than they scored (4.3), but still managed to win half their games this week.
Dodgers:
Los Angeles was 3-3 this past week and moved from 6 to 7.5 games back in the standings. The Dodgers lost two of three to the Cardinals and then won two of three against the Angels.
LA's starting pitchers weren't as great this week as they were last week, except for Hyun-Jin Ryu. The lefty threw a complete game shutout against the Angels on Tuesday. Ryu struck out seven, walked none, and gave up just two hits against the Angels. Adrian Gonzalez also had a monster week, but we'll talk about that later.
What's in store for these teams next week?