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Thrilling stretch drives are no-shows in National League

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Intrigue has taken the season off in the National League.

Where’s the thrill? There isn’t a single pennant race. Not one snippet of a climactic final month. Just five long months of buzz kill leading up an enormous yawn.

The Phillies are up by 11 games in the NL East, the Brewers by eight in the Central and Diamondbacks by 7½ in the West. Even the wild-card race is dull, the Braves enjoying a 7½-game lead.

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No dramatic finishes here.

Of course, the Dodgers were more than 10 games out before the end of June, so it’s not like they’ve been offering a lot of suspense. The only intrigue for them is whether Clayton Kershaw can nab the Cy Young and Matt Kemp the MVP.

And then there are the Giants, who I am just so sad to report, will not be defending their remarkable world championship come the postseason.

The shrinking Giants host the Dodgers for three games starting Friday. There remains a remote chance the Dodgers could yet catch them in the West –- a weekend sweep would leave them 1½ games back of the Giants. Also, they would be over the .500 mark for the first time since April 29.

In an uninspiring final month, you take your intrigue where you can find it.

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Dodgers start doubleheader with 7-4 victory over Nationals

-- Steve Dilbeck

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