The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in the National League West. That's where they usually are in nearly every season. But the Dodgers are being pushed hard in the division by the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The fourth-place Arizona Diamondbacks are within reach as well.

The Dodgers have a 32-20 record following their Saturday night 5-2 defeat at the hands of the New York Mets. Superstar Mookie Betts is one of the dominant offensive players on the team along with fellow superstars Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. He spoke about the preseason assessments that several observers made during the offseason and spring training that had the Dodgers winning as many as 120 games this season.

“I don't think I had a vision of seeing how it played out,” Betts said, in an interview with Fox reporter Ken Rosenthal. “That's not how it works. Everyone out here is trying to win. It's hard, playing the game is hard. Expecting any team to win 120 games because you have a good roster is hard. There are a lot of variables that go into it. The division is tough. There are a lot of really good ball players and a lot of really good teams. It's tough, really tough.”

Dodgers superstars have performed, but pitching has been an issue

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) gets ready for a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Dodgers present a major obstacle every time they take the field. While opponents like the Giants, Padres, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have talented teams, they all know that they face formidable competition when they take the field against Los Angeles.

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Shohei Ohtani is capable of dominating any game and he has already delivered 17 home runs  and 31 runs batted in. Slugger Teoscar Hernandez has blasted the ball out of the ball park 10 times and driven in 41 runs.

First baseman Freddie Freeman is slashing .361/.429/.646 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI. Betts has gotten off to a relatively slow start with 6 home runs and 30 RBI, but he is capable of getting hot and carrying the team.

The Dodgers pitching staff has not been as intimidating or as effective as the team's hitters. Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto has fulfilled expectations with a 5-3 record along with a 1.86 earned run average and 68 strikeouts in 58 innings.

None of the other Dodgers starting pitchers have an ERA of less than 4.00. The oft-injured Dustin May has started 9 games and he has a 2-4 record with a 4.09 ERA in 50.2 innings.

Closer Tanner Scott has a 3.42 ERA with 10 saves, but he also has four blown saves and that continues to be an issue for manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers.