For all the giddiness over their lightning-fast start to the season, the one lingering doubt about the Dodgers is whether all of this is real or an illusion. They do, after all, play in the horrid National League West, and to date they have played 28 of their 33 games against somewhat horrid N.L. West opponents.
Moreover, the Dodgers are below .500 in their five games outside the division -- they lost two of three at Houston and split a two-game series at home with Washington. The Astros and the Nationals are well below .500 and at or near the bottom of their respective divisions. Beginning Tuesday night, though, the Dodgers will get a true test of their mettle. That is when they begin a three-game series at Philadelphia, the start of a 12-game stretch in which they will play the Phillies, Marlins, Mets and Angels.
All four of those teams are at or near the top of their respective divisions, and all four are teams the Dodgers potentially could run into in the postseason, assuming they get there.
Last year, when the N.L. West was about as bad as it is now, the Dodgers won the division by two games and finished six games above .500 (84-78). They won it by going 40-32 within the division while playing below .500 (44-46) against all other opponents.
