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LOS ANGELES – Should the Dodgers have pushed harder for homefield advantage last week?

Going into their Tuesday game at AT&T Park, they trailed the Atlanta Braves by two games and the St. Louis Cardinals by one. The Dodgers went 2-4 from that point. They weren’t going to catch the Cardinals, who won all five of their remaining games. And they weren’t going to catch Atlanta, which went 3-2, but held the tiebreaker over the Dodgers.

So, the answer to that question is a fairly definitive, “no,” unless you think that by half-stepping in the final two series, the Dodgers lost their edge heading into the playoffs. That could well be true, but it didn't feel that way. We'll find out if the Dodgers can flip the switch again Thursday.

Overall, it was a pretty bad week and a continuation of the Dodgers’ lackluster September, but you could also argue, who cares?

SCORING

Here’s where the worriers might have some justification. The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t look dangerous last week, scoring an average of 3.5 runs per game and batting .222. Yasiel Puig (.167, five strikeouts in six games) struggled badly. One of the few Dodgers swinging a hot bat in San Francisco, Matt Kemp, was shut down for the entire postseason with an inflamed ankle.

And it won’t get any easier Thursday, when the Dodgers face Braves right-hander Kris Medlen, who is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA against the Dodgers.

Of course, the counterargument to the worriers is that manager Don Mattingly continued to give his frontline players revolving days off. Beginning Thursday, barring a setback, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Puig will all be in the lineup for every game.

While the loss of Kemp and, probably, Andre Ethier, will sap the lineup of some depth, the Dodgers have the names and resumes to do damage once again. If they can only find the spark they’ve been missing.

Grade: D+

DEFENSE

Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke finished up their regular seasons exactly as you would want them to, by dominating. Kershaw put a ribbon on his Cy Young-bound season Friday and Greinke pitched nearly as well the following day while, somehow, picking up the loss.

Hyun-Jin Ryu had another one of those starts where he gives up a bunch of hits, but generally pitches out of trouble. Ricky Nolasco’s slump is something of a concern, but if the Dodgers’ top three starters pitch to form, maybe they won’t have to worry about a Game 4, who knows?

It was that kind of week for Dodgers pitching, which lost four games while pitching to a 1.92 ERA.

Most of the key relievers seem to be sharp heading into the playoffs, Kenley Jansen has been unhittable, Brian Wilson continues to go strong and J.P. Howell has pitched well. Paco Rodriguez has been struggling, but Mattingly said he feels fine about his young lefty heading into the playoffs.

Grade: A-

DECISION-MAKING

Mattingly needs to keep his day job, because he would make a terrible psychic. All season, he has been asked to assess the severity of Dodgers injuries and, all season long, he has started out being as optimistic and conservative in his estimates as he can be.

Pretty much every time, the injury proved to be more serious than first hoped.
Last weekend, Mattingly thought Ethier was healthy enough to pinch hit, so he gave him an at-bat in San Diego. Ethier hasn’t been seen since. Going into Sunday’s game, Mattingly thought Kemp would be ready to go by Thursday. Four hours later, the Dodgers team doctor shut down Kemp for the remainder of 2013.

So, we have to assume that some of the aches and pains the Dodgers hitters have been dealing with are a bit more severe than the team has indicated. In that case, Mattingly was perfectly justified in fielding some watered-down lineups after the Dodgers clinched.

Grade: B

CHEMISTRY TEST

Kershaw is a good example of how players’ attitudes can affect the team’s performance. The Dodgers have provided Kershaw with awful run support all season, which means that his charmed season -- becoming just the second L.A. Dodger to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA -- only netted him 16 wins.

Now, whenever anyone glances casually at Kershaw’s baseball card, they’ll skim right over 2013 rather than recognize his brilliance this season.

All season, Kershaw has held his tongue when he was given an opportunity to criticize Dodgers hitters. Many a pitcher has admitted to frustration under similar circumstances.

People tend to focus on the big personalities -- players like Puig, Brian Wilson and Juan Uribe -- when talking about team chemistry, but a player such as Kershaw or Mark Ellis can contribute just as much by staying quiet sometimes.

Grade: A-

STATE OF CONTENTION

The Dodgers are in the playoffs and they don’t have to bother with a wild-card game.
That’s about as good as you can hope for right about now.

Grade: A

ESPN baseball insider Jim Bowden joined Max & Marcellus to discuss the Dodgers' postseason chances, including which teams they should fear.

Click here to hear the full interview.

And what is up with Brian Wilson chewing out the Giants CEO? Ramona Shelburne and Marcellus Wiley weigh in as well.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barring some unforeseen circumstances -- or perhaps a misguided decision by the Los Angeles Dodgers to go with Ricky Nolasco -- Hyun-Jin Ryu will pitch Game 3 of the Dodgers' first-round playoff series.

If the Dodgers need that game to advance, or even if they need it to stave off elimination, it would appear they'll have the right guy on the mound. Ryu has certainly not looked overtaken by big moments.

Ryu pitched seven strong innings, giving up only four hits and a run in the Dodgers' 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on Tuesday. It was certainly not a playoff atmosphere -- the Giants have been playing out the string since August -- but it was a game the Dodgers had to have if they want to maintain hope of opening the playoffs at home. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals both won.

Ryu is 14-7 with a 2.97 ERA. Were it not for Miami phenom Jose Fernandez and the Dodgers' own Yasiel Puig, Ryu would have been a walkaway Rookie of the Year winner.

"I've surpassed my initial expectations," Ryu said through an interpreter. "Not that I thought it was going to be easy, but it's been much better than I thought. That's a good thing."

He had lost four of his previous five starts coming into Tuesday, but all four of those losses were quality starts. In a spotlight game in his native Korea, he pitched brilliantly in a Dodgers' win over the Cincinnati Reds and Korean superstar Shin-Soo Choo back in July. He gave up one earned run in his major league debut.

The Dodgers have gone 11-4 in his past 15 starts. Since the All-Star break, Ryu has walked nine batters in 11 starts while striking out 57. He can even hit a little, though his base running isn't exactly graceful.

"We couldn't have asked, really, for anything more," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

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The game that sent the Los Angeles Dodgers to the playoffs wasn’t particularly reflective of the kind of season that got them there.

It wasn’t very well-pitched, with Ricky Nolasco melting down and allowing six runs in the third inning. Its biggest hit came from a player in a deep slump, catcher A.J. Ellis, who swatted the go-ahead home run.

And in the days following the win, much of the attention went to how the Dodgers celebrated -- with a romp in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ pool -- rather than on the accomplishment itself.

But the one shining moment from an otherwise blasé week for the Dodgers was that afternoon game in Arizona. It guaranteed that the rest of the week -- in which the Dodgers went a pedestrian 3-3 -- really didn’t matter all that much.

The minute Kenley Jansen got that final out, the rest of the Dodgers’ season became about preparing for the playoffs. They were the first team in the major leagues to clinch their division. So, yeah, it was a good week.

SCORING

It was fairly evident before last week, but it became even clearer in the past seven days. The Dodgers are really good when their star players are on the field and average when they are not. If you were to fret about one thing going into the playoffs and next season it would be the lack of depth, a problem created by a mediocre Triple-A team.

Hanley Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier all missed time due to injuries, most of them the nagging kind.

The day after the Dodgers clinched, they started a lineup entirely of Triple-A-caliber players and bench guys and they looked incapable of scoring a run while losing 2-0. The next day, the Dodgers started most of their guys with Clayton Kershaw on the mound and hit a pair of home runs to get Kershaw some rare run support in a 4-0 win.

Which lineup do you think is more likely to be on the field on Oct. 3, when the Dodgers begin the post-season? If they’re fortunate and if manager Don Mattingly manages to keep everybody healthy, it figures to be the latter.

In other words, the Dodgers are still a dangerous lineup even if they haven’t always looked the part lately.

Grade: B-

DEFENSE

Until his last two starts, Nolasco might have been a candidate to pitch Game 3 of the Dodgers’ first playoff series, perhaps nudging ahead of Hyun-Jin Ryu if the Dodgers faced a team adept at hitting lefties (eg., the Pittsburgh Pirates).

Now, it looks like Ryu is the right choice no matter who the Dodgers face. Nolasco allowed 11 earned runs on 16 hits in his last 6 1/3 innings and that raises red flags at this time of year, particularly because Nolasco has never pitched in the post-season.

On the other hand, the rest of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers stayed true to form and the bullpen at times was dominant. Kenley Jansen, entering his first post-season, and Brian Wilson, a closer on a World Series team, could be a solid combination at the end of games. Together, Jansen and Wilson struck out eight batters in six innings, simply shutting down the final innings.

Another area of worry, of course, is fielding, which has been slightly below mediocre all season. There will be times in the playoffs, when Hanley Ramirez and Michael Young are in the game at the same time, when the Dodgers have a highly permeable left side of the infield.

And, while Dee Gordon is tempting to keep on the roster because of his value as a pinch runner, it might be tough to carry him because he looks like such a defensive liability.

Grade: B-

DECISION-MAKING

Mattingly has had some embarrassing moments lately. Two weeks ago, he gave the umpire the name of the wrong left-handed pitcher, meaning Paco Rodriguez had to leave the mound without ever throwing a pitch. Last week, he tried to remove a pitcher shortly after Rick Honeycutt had already visited the mound and was sent back to the dugout.

In neither case did it cost the Dodgers, but Mattingly and his staff aren’t going to want to be in those kinds of situations in October.

The front office is on a tear, with Wilson and Young both looking like excellent acquisitions and Carlos Marmol and Edinson Volquez even chipping in here and there.

Some people have been upset at Mattingly for resting his regulars so much, but it’s hard to knock him if you’re not sitting in on his meetings with the medical staff. And given the evidence about homefield advantage in the playoffs – it’s a 50-50 proposition in both the division series and championship series – it seems like the right course of action.

Grade: B-

CHEMISTRY TEST

The day after the Dodgers clinched, a group of players was lounging around the clubhouse in San Diego as TV commentators were discussing – what else – pool-gate. When the network showed Brian Wilson’s Twitter response to Sen. John McCain’s pointed criticism, the room erupted in laughter.

The Dodgers really don’t care what other people think about their celebration.

Their animosity with the Diamondbacks ran deep even before that incident, so it will be worth monitoring when the two teams face each other in spring training.

The Dodgers have become accustomed to deflecting criticism as a group this season. They’ve dealt with it after a series of brawls, when it was coming at rookie Yasiel Puig hot and heavy and, now, this. It doesn’t seem to have dented their sense of camaraderie. In fact, just the opposite.

Grade: A-

STATE OF CONTENTION

If the Dodgers don’t start playing with a bit more urgency, they figure to open the playoffs on the road. And this is a problem, because…?

It’s not as if Kershaw and Zack Greinke aren’t perfectly capable of keeping a stadium quiet long enough to let the Dodgers offense come to life. Meanwhile, Ryu has a 2.23 ERA at Dodger Stadium, so he could be poised to finish an opponent off.

It’s far more important who the Dodgers play than where they play them, but since they have limited control over that, they’re better off getting their players as physically sound than worrying about home field.

Grade: A-

SAN DIEGO – Shortly after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed former All-Star closer Brian Wilson, manager Don Mattingly watched Wilson pitch a simulated game in Philadelphia. The Dodgers recorded Wilson’s fastball in the 86 mph range.

“That scared me a little,” Mattingly said.

But in relatively short order, Wilson, who is coming off the second Tommy John elbow surgery of his career, has worked into mid-90s velocity, a few miles per hour off his previous range. And, in relatively short order, he has worked his way into an eighth-inning role, supplanting struggling reliever Ronald Belisario as the primary right-handed setup man.

Wilson, who dominated San Diego Padres hitters in the ninth inning of a 4-0 win Saturday, has allowed just one run in 11 1/3 innings with the Dodgers. Only one of the 11 runners he has inherited has scored.

Tuesday could bring another new experience for Wilson: Pitching in San Francisco as a visiting player. The San Francisco Giants declined to tender him a contract last December, in the midst of his rehabilitation, and Wilson signed with the Dodgers in July.

Mattingly said he expects there to be a mix of boos and cheers if Wilson pitches in one of the three games at AT&T Park next week. He’s puzzled by the idea of people booing.

“It’s like you’re not allowed to work anywhere else. Once you work in San Francisco, you’re not allowed to work in L.A., even if they don’t want you,” Mattingly said.

Here are lineups for Sunday’s series finale in San Diego:

Los Angeles

1. Yasiel Puig RF
2. Carl Crawford LF
3. Hanley Ramirez SS
4. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
5. Matt Kemp CF
6. Michael Young 3B
7. Skip Schumaker 2B
8. Tim Federowicz C
9. Zack Greinke RHP

Padres

1. Alexi Amarista LF
2. Ronny Cedeno SS
3. Will Venable RF
4. Jedd Gyorko 2B
5. Tommy Medica 1B
6. Logan Forsythe 3B
7. Reymond Fuentes CF
8. Rene Rivera C
9. Andrew Cashner RHP

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers reliever Brian Wilson entered the clubhouse Sunday morning, looking like he just left a Grateful Dead concert. He wore a purple knit cap atop his jet-black hair, with a few loosely fastened dreadlocks flowing out the sides.

Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez burst out in laughter as Wilson strutted across the room, dropping a few barbs along the way. Wilson didn’t let those remarks sink in long before shooting back at Uribe, reminding him of the purple slacks he wore to Saturday’s game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to sport a new look on a daily basis, and lately, that’s included a few new faces. Wilson made his Dodgers debut last week, giving the bullpen another veteran arm with World Series experience, as well as some personality to an already quirky locker room.

On Saturday night it was Michael Young who joined the fold. The veteran infielder was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for a minor league pitcher, giving the Dodgers another player with World Series experience, a batting title, a Gold Glove and seven All-Star appearances -- one of which led to the MVP award in the 2006 game.

There were a few furrowed brows when Young’s trade was announced, however.

After all, the Dodgers went 23-6 in August and have been satisfied with the play of Uribe at third base, the position Young has mainly played the past few seasons. The same can be said for second base, where Mark Ellis has been solid when healthy. Nick Punto has also done a stellar job occupying a utility role among the infielders.

The person responsible for integrating another new player into the mix, manager Don Mattingly, didn’t seem too concerned with that task prior to Sunday’s series finale against the visiting San Diego Padres.

“We’re not trying to bring Michael in here to knock Adrian [Gonzalez] off first base,” Mattingly said. “Michael’s here to add to our club, to give us added depth, give us a guy that can do a lot of things.”

Mattingly said he spoke with Young after the trade and “just wanted to make sure this wasn’t something that turned him upside down.”

“We’re not getting a young kid in the prime of his career, and I say that with all due respect,” Mattingly said. “This guy has had a career that he has done a lot of things, but he’s at a point also in his career where you understand where you’re at. We’re going to treat him with respect, make sure I’m honest with him about everything and just see where it goes.”

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In most seasons, for most teams, a 4-3 record in a week that started 2,400 miles from home and concluded against one of the best teams in baseball would be considered successful. For the 2013 Dodgers, you’d have to consider it a mild disappointment.

After doing what you would have expected them to do in Miami, they came home and lost a series to the Boston Red Sox. Before that, they hadn’t lost a series since mid-June.

They ran into very tough Boston starting pitching and the offense in the past week or so has shown some signs of tapering off.

Not that it was a bad week if you’re a Dodger fans. Vin Scully announced he’s returning next season for his 65^th year in the broadcast booth. Scully said the excitement of the team’s dramatic season was one of the reasons he decided to come back.

SCORING

For a while, one of the most impressive aspects of the Dodgers’ surge was their ability to beat quality, sometimes even dominant, starting pitchers. Cliff Lee. Matt Harvey. Shelby Miller. It didn’t matter. The Dodgers somehow got the better of some difficult matchups.

Last week, they settled into a more-pedestrian pattern. They scored off the pitchers you would expect them to score on and looked human against the others. Jose Fernandez, Jake Peavy and Jon Lester all essentially shut them down.

The Dodgers averaged three runs per game, which is closer to their April and May pace than what they’ve shown since. Still, given the pitchers they were facing, it’s all entirely forgivable.

It’s appropriate that Boston was in town on the one-year anniversary of the big trade. Two of the key cogs from that trade have been, once again, keeping the Dodgers offense moving forward. Carl Crawford batted .333 with three walks and a couple of stolen bases. Adrian Gonzalez hit .296 , homered and drove in four runs.

Otherwise, it was a ho-hum week, with phenom Yasiel Puig (.167) struggling as badly as anyone.

Grade: C

DEFENSE

The Dodgers are seeing exactly the kind of dynamic in their pitching staff that can make a team difficult to handle in October. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are becoming the best 1-2 combination of starters in the National League.

But it’s not just about them. Ricky Nolasco missed facing his former team when the Dodgers were in Miami, but he made sure the Boston series wasn’t a total loss by giving up just two hits, striking out six, in Friday’s 2-0 win.

The bullpen wasn’t quite as stout as it had been in previous weeks, with J.P. Howell, Brandon League and Chris Withrow all getting hit at times, but in the key spots, it generally held firm. Kenley Jansen has taken all the drama out of the last inning. He had three saves and allowed just one runner to reach base. Carlos Marmol pitched well, cementing his place in the bullpen.

If you were going to comb through this Dodgers team for a flaw, you would say occasionally sloppy defense could be their downfall. They have made 90 errors this season, worse than all but three teams in the NL. Then again, this trend -- like so many others -- seems to be going in a positive direction.

After making a couple of punishing errors in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Hanley Ramirez played a clean week of defense. He might be the Dodgers’ most-improved fielder.

Grade: A-

DECISION-MAKING

There’s another trade deadline on the way. The non-waiver period has already passed, but if teams acquire a player before Saturday, that player would be eligible for the post-season roster.

But, even if general manager Ned Colletti found a team willing to move a major piece, what area does he really need to improve? Brian Wilson and Marmol look like they might be the veteran relievers the Dodgers were looking for before the July 31 deadline.

They could try to land another starting pitcher, but considering they’ll only need four once the playoffs begin, even that would be surprising, especially with Nolasco pitching well.

The Dodgers also will get a little help on the fringes when rosters expand on Sept. 1.

Was Don Mattingly too lenient on Yasiel Puig when he benched him for only part of one game in Miami, a game in which Puig hit the decisive home run after entering as a defensive replacement? Was he too harsh fining him after Puig got stuck in traffic and showed up late?

Those questions will be debated as the Puig saga unfolds, but it seems Mattingly at least started to take a stand. That should be viewed favorably within the clubhouse.

Grade: B-

CHEMISTRY QUIZ

We saw the first in-house signs of backlash toward Puig last week, with Mattingly fining him and veteran players beginning to express some disappointment with Puig repeating his on-field mistakes. For now, it seems containable, more a headache for Mattingly than a crisis.

The Dodgers’ clubhouse was already trending toward goofy before Wilson arrived. Now, guys seem to be having even more fun before games. Wilson and Uribe have revived their tradition from the San Francisco Giants days of playing dominos before games, with Uribe’s voice often filling the clubhouse with calls of “Wil-son!”

They’re still winning. What's not to like?

Grade: B-

STATE OF CONTENTION

If Dodgers fans are prone to worry, they might think of a team like the 2011 Atlanta Braves, who, on Aug. 23, were in prime position for a deep playoff run, 10 ½ games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card standings.

From there, Atlanta went 11-21 and failed to make the playoffs, with the Cardinals making one of the most improbable World Series runs in the sport’s history.

Then again, those types of collapses become famous, because they’re so rare. The Dodgers began the week with a 7 ½-game lead and they ended it with a 9 1/2-game lead, so how bad can things be?

Grade: A-

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brian Wilson says he will never part with his signature black beard and thinks that a reported $1 million offer from a razor blade company to shave it is bogus.

"I'm not concerned with shaving or growing or anything," Wilson said. "It's just attached to my face. It does what it wants. It's probably not an offer. It's probably bogus. I wouldn't worry about it. It's staying. I'm not going to sell my facial hair. I would never consider doing that regardless of the sum of money. I don't care about someone paying me to tell me how to look. I still have it because most people hate it, so you're welcome."

During his first meeting with the media at Dodger Stadium before Friday's game against the Boston Red Sox, Wilson said he was just focused on baseball and winning a World Series with the Dodgers.

"I told the organization I'm here to get outs," Wilson said. "If you want me to go on the mound and get outs, that's what I'll do."

Wilson refused to mention the San Francisco Giants by name, referring to his former team as "the other organization up north." Wilson, however, said he holds no ill will toward the Giants and isn't circling the Dodgers' three-game series in San Francisco next month on his calendar.

"I look forward to pitching against every single baseball team," Wilson said. "There's no anticipation of what might happen or extra motivation. I don't have that. My time with them is done. I play for the Dodgers. I work for the Dodgers, and I'm going to win with the Dodgers."

Wilson, 31, underwent Tommy John surgery last April after two early-season appearances with the Giants. He was non-tendered by the club last November after making $8.5 million in 2012 and signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Dodgers last month. There were many who thought Wilson's career was over with last season, but Wilson wasn't one of them.

"It wasn't over with, definitely not on my accord," Wilson said. "I'll throw without an arm. I'll find a way. What got me motivated was the fact that no one really thought I'd come back, and I knew exactly who they were and, yeah, I used that as motivation. I love doubt. That's what I feed off of. That's why I like getting booed."

Wilson won two World Series titles with the Giants over the past three seasons, and he says he thinks the Dodgers have what it takes to make a World Series run of their own this season.

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MIAMI -- It's a sign of the baseball times here in Miami -- and the early start to Thursday’s game didn't help -- that it took so much promotion to draw such a sparse crowd to the park to watch Clayton Kershaw’s latest gem.

But for $5 and whatever it costs to park nearby, you could see the National League’s leader in just about every pitching category do what he’s been doing all year. He shut out the Marlins over eight strong innings to lead the Dodgers to a breezy 6-0 win in the final game of this four-game series.

The Marlins managed just five hits off the Dodgers' ace as he pitched into the eighth inning for the 12th time this season and lowered his ERA to a major league-best 1.72. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four pitchers since 1980 have posted an ERA as low as Kershaw’s at least 25 starts into the season (Dwight Gooden, 1985; Greg Maddux, 1994, 1995, 1998; Roger Clemens, 1997, 2005; and Pedro Martinez, 1997, 2000).

“He kind of gets himself into routines and he’s just marching onward all the time. One start’s over and he’s on to the next one. That one’s over and it’s time to start the next process,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of Kershaw.

“What I enjoy with Clayton is that it’s every pitch, every batter, no matter what the score is, he attacks, he’s focused, he’s not wanting to make one bad pitch, not wanting to let any runners on. He just wants to execute, execute, execute. That’s tough to do over a long season. He’s a machine.”

Kershaw also helped his cause at the plate, driving in the first run of the game in the fourth inning with a two-out, bases-loaded single to left to score Yasiel Puig, who doubled to lead off the inning. The next batter, Carl Crawford, drove in two runs to stake Kershaw to an early 3-0 lead. The Dodgers tacked on two more runs with two outs in the fifth on an RBI double by A.J. Ellis and an RBI single by Skip Schumaker.

Puig was back in the lineup Thursday and batting cleanup after experiencing dehydration and cramping in his legs Wednesday night. Mattingly said Puig received IV fluids after the game Wednesday.

Kershaw was so dominant, it finally gave Mattingly a comfortable spot to bring on former Giants closer Brian Wilson for his Dodgers debut with a six-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Wilson struck out the first batter he faced, Giancarlo Stanton, got Logan Morrison to ground out to second base, gave up a double to pinch hitter Greg Dobbs, and struck out Justin Ruggiano to end the game.

The Dodgers return home to open a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox beginning Friday. L.A. has gone a major league-best 28-5 since the All-Star break and has won 22 of its past 25 road games.

Mark Saxon talks about the return of Brian Wilson, why there is cause for concern with Yasiel Puig, and why Mike Trout's season has been overshadowed.

The funny thing about Wednesday’s thrilling comeback -- in which Andre Ethier tied it in the ninth with a pinch-hit, two-run home run and Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez won it in the 12th with a couple of doubles -- is how far-from-extraordinary it felt.

You can tell that the Dodgers now expect to win every game, no matter how improbable the circumstances. When the stadium is nearly full that late in a game, you know the fans have caught on.

And beating Matt Harvey and Cliff Lee in one week qualifies as improbable all by itself.

But there was a twist this week. The Dodgers stayed hot, winning five of the six games they played, but they didn’t gain any ground. The Arizona Diamondbacks showed some signs of trying to make this thing a race after all.

SCORING

Hanley Ramirez was just easing his way back into competition after missing more than a week with a jammed shoulder, Puig (.200, .472 OPS) had a rough week and Gonzalez and Carl Crawford had one extra-base between them.

So, what happens? Which unlikely hero will emerge to somehow take up the slack. The names change, but the story seems to stay the same.

This time, it was Juan Uribe, who batted .500 and had a 1.352 OPS for the week. Ethier, of course, did more than his share just with that strange home run (pinch-hit home runs are rare and he never goes to the opposite field).

Oh yeah, and Nick Punto, had some nice moments early, though his playing time figures to shrink dramatically with Ramirez back and manager Don Mattingly likely to ride his everyday players for most of the pennant race.

Grade: B-

DEFENSE

The heart of this team became apparent in the past week if it wasn’t before. It’s about pitching, particularly the Dodgers’ top three starters and their suddenly dominant bullpen. Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched 22 innings between them and allowed just 11 hits and one run.

At times, the Dodgers are surviving -- rather than thriving with -- the back of the rotation, with Chris Capuano a bit wobbly -- but Ricky Nolasco has generally held his own.

The dominance of the Dodgers’ big three has eased the load on the bullpen, which is a key development, but when the relievers pitch, they continue to get the job done. L.A. relievers pitched 16 innings and only allowed one run.

Even reclamation project Carlos Marmol (two scoreless innings) and youngster Chris Withrow (ditto) have chipped in, which could make the activation of veteran Brian Wilson a somewhat difficult roster move.

Grade: A

DECISION-MAKING

Earlier this season, there seemed to be at least a tiny bit of friction pitting manager Don Mattingly and Hanley Ramirez on one side and the team’s medical staff on the other. In Pittsburgh, Mattingly put his foot down and decided Ramirez was just going to play every day though the trainers recommended he spot him a day off here and there. After all, the shortstop had been begging to get back on the field for a few days.

The Dodgers’ lineup flows better when Ramirez is batting cleanup and Puig is in the No. 2 hole, with rare left-right balance that can make it challenging to manage against the Dodgers.

It was otherwise a quiet week for Mattingly, who -- when everyone’s healthy -- can just sit back and watch the engine purr. There will be some challenges in the next couple of weeks with Wilson coming back and Matt Kemp not too far behind.

At long last, we may get to see how the Dodgers manage the four-outfielder conundrum.

Grade: A-

CHEMISTRY QUIZ

We’ve decided to retire the “Grit-Meter.” It just doesn’t seem as relevant now that the Dodgers’ talent has fully blossomed. They’ll need to summon it when they get tested -- and it’s hard to believe they won’t between now and the playoffs -- but right now it doesn’t seem like a central theme.

If you ask most players about teams that function well, they’ll tell you they have fun together in the clubhouse. When it’s quiet and uptight before games, it seems to carry over into the games.

The Dodgers are having fun, with Uribe and Punto, for some reason, the most frequent target of pranks and punch lines.

Brandon Belt was right, of course. You can’t buy team chemistry. But if you wait long enough, sometimes it falls in your lap free of charge.

Grade: A-

STATE OF CONTENTION

At this point, any week that goes by without the Dodgers losing ground is a huge gain. It’s the Diamondbacks who need to force the action, but that’s hard to do when the team ahead of you loses only one game.

The troubling part for Arizona is that 10 of the Dodgers’ next 13 games are against the Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Arizona has to get through four games with the better-than-solid Cincinnati Reds this week before they hit divisional play.

Of course, there are other races for lesser prizes. The Dodgers trail the Atlanta Braves by 3 1/2 games for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Atlanta’s not showing any signs of giving it up, but if the Dodgers keep playing like this, they might just track them down anyway.

Grade: A-

Brian Wilson can see it from afar.

The former All-Star closer just joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization 10 days ago -- and his closest work place to a Dodger Stadium mound was in Rancho Cucamonga -- but he has watched enough games on TV to see what’s happening.

"You can see the atmosphere has kind of changed. You watch all the teams throughout the year and kind of see a certain carryover, having a loose atmosphere, playing fun," Wilson said. "You can see they’re having a great time."

You would think a guy like Wilson, with his dramatic and ever-changing hairstyles and braided beard, might make things even more fun in the Dodgers clubhouse.

But as Wilson spoke to reporters after his first rehab outing Wednesday night, I couldn't help marveling at what a luxury he is. The Dodgers really didn't have all that urgent a need when they took a $1 million gamble to see if Wilson could give them quality relief work for the final six weeks of the season and, they hope, beyond.

During this 41-game stretch, in which the Dodgers have won 33 games, their relievers are 10-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 115 2/3 innings. Before that, they were 12-17 with a 4.67 ERA.

So, if Wilson is good, they have one more experienced setup man to get the ball to red-hot closer Kenley Jansen. If Jansen falters, Wilson might even step in. If he's not good or his arm doesn't hold up, they watch a million bills from their $216 million payroll go up in smoke. Oh well.

Of course, all teams have limitations of one sort or another. The Dodgers are practically without bounds financially, but former owner Frank McCourt left the Dodgers' minor-league system bare. Thus, the Dodgers elected to pass on any potential trades for relievers, holding onto their few premium prospects.

The Tampa Bay Rays, who visit Dodger Stadium for the first time ever this weekend, have arrived at a similar place through different means. The Rays, who are the American League version of the Dodgers -- 25-8 since June 28 -- are cash-poor, but prospect-rich.

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ST. LOUIS -- Brian Wilson will make his first rehab assignment Wednesday, starting for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga as it takes on Lake Elsinore.

Wilson is expected to start and make 20-25 pitches.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he was interested to see how Wilson would do and when he could get him into the bullpen.

"Everything we hear is this guy is as competitive as can be," Mattingly said. "I know he's had the ball in the last out of the World Series. We're looking for that side of it."

Wilson was signed as a free agent on July 30 and then placed on the disabled list. Wilson, 31, underwent Tommy John surgery last April after two early-season appearances with the Giants.

Whenever Wilson makes his debut for the Dodgers he will be sporting his signature long black beard. Mattingly said the team doesn't have any facial hair rules and doesn't foresee Wilson's beard being an issue.

"I'm not really concerned about it," Mattingly said. "I haven't seen it. The Dodgers in the past have never had any facial hair rules that I know of. We've had different guys with long hair since I've been here. I'm not really worried about it. I don't care what guys do, honestly as long as they come here ready to play and respect the game. ... I guess if it was something that was a distraction for the whole club we'd deal with it, but I'm not anticipating any problems."

ST. LOUIS -- Brian Wilson will make his debut as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization Wednesday for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Monday.

Wilson, who underwent Tommy John surgery last April after two early-season appearances with the San Francisco Giants, signed a one-year contract with the Dodgers last week and has not pitched since April 12 of last season.

“He’s to the point where he can start throwing in games outside of Arizona,” Mattingly said. “The first seven had to be in Arizona.”

The plan for Wilson was to go through a two-week program at the Dodgers' spring training complex in Arizona and continue on to Rancho Cucamonga when he felt ready.

“We’re just moving him forward and getting him ready,” Mattingly said. “We’re trying to give him a semi-spring training. We want him to be ready and feel like he’s ready. If we’re seven days from now and he feels like he needs more time, we’re not forced into anything. There’s no hard deadline when he has to be here."

When Mattingly was asked when he’d like to have Wilson in the bullpen, he said, “As soon as possible and as soon as he feels like he’s ready. … Sooner rather than later.”

LOS ANGELES -- Ned Colletti is among the most active general managers in baseball around the trade deadline -- and, often, after it -- so it's entirely possible he'll make another move before Wednesday afternoon's non-waiver trade deadline.

Colletti said he's not counting on it.

The team traded for starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco last month and, on Tuesday, signed former San Francisco Giants' closer Brian Wilson as a free agent. Wilson will work his way back in the minor leagues and they're expecting him on their roster in 2-3 weeks.

Colletti said other teams repeatedly asked for the Dodgers' top prospects when he discussed available relievers. The Dodgers are intent on restocking their minor-league system, so they were hesitant to move them, and Colletti said he viewed the market for relievers as both slow and overpriced.

"At this point, we're really in the listening stage," Colletti said. "If we think there's a deal that can improve us, we'll consider it."

One area the Dodgers might still look to upgrade is the back of their rotation. Chris Capuano has been unreliable and Stephen Fife remains on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right shoulder.

"You talk about a limited number of people who are available," Colletti said.

Here are the lineups for Tuesday night, the New York Yankees first visit to Dodger Stadium since 2010:

New York
1. Brett Gardner CF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Robinson Cano 2B
4. Alfonso Soriano LF
5. Lyle Overbay 1B
6. Ichiro Suzuki RF
7. Jayson Nix 3B
8. Chris Stewart C
9. Andy Pettitte LHP

Dodgers
1. Carl Crawford LF
2. Yasiel Puig RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
4. Hanley Ramirez SS
5. A.J. Ellis C
6. Andre Ethier CF
7. Juan Uribe 3B
8. Mark Ellis 2B
9. Zack Greinke RHP