Sep 19, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the seventh inning off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Scott Oberg (45) in the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The last post on this website was about Yasiel Puig leaving Dodger Stadium during Tuesday night’s Dodgers-Rockies game because his house was broken into (for the fourth time in 18 months).

On Wednesday night, Puig returned to the Dodgers, but didn’t start. He still managed to have the biggest swing of the game, and it provided a big boost to the Dodgers’ NL West title chances (and did the opposite for the Rockies’ chances).

With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers had runners on second and third with two outs. Despite having first base open, the Rockies chose to pitch to Puig, and that didn’t work out. Puig launched a Scott Oberg slider over the left-center field wall for a three-run homer that would serve as the game-winner in Los Angeles’ 5-2 victory.

The Rockies entered the night 1.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. So with a win, Colorado would’ve been a half game back, but instead find themselves 2.5 games back with the loss. With only 10 games remaining for the Rockies, making up 2.5 games on the much better team (the Dodgers are +165 on the Rockies in run differential) is a very difficult task. FanGraphs only gives that a 3.8% chance of happening.

So, while the Dodgers haven’t clinched the NL West crown yet, Puig’s home run greatly boosted the chances that happens. But, Puig believes the race is already over:

He’s quite likely correct.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.