The Los Angeles Dodgers secured their 11th National League West title in the past 12 years with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night over division rivals the San Diego Padres.
It is also their twelfth consecutive year of reaching the playoffs. It is by far the longest streak among current teams, tied for third in Major League Baseball history only by the Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 2005 and the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2007.
As it stands, the Boys in Blue currently hold a 95-64 record, which ties them for the most wins in MLB this season. However, this will be their first campaign in which they fail to record 100+ wins (excluding the shortened 2020 season) since 2018.
Shohei Ohtani drove in the go-ahead run and stole his 56th base of the season in the sixth inning to end the Padres’ five-game winning streak.
Already in playoff mode
Thursday night was the night for the Boys in Blue, who had already secured a spot in the playoffs and were in a much tighter race than they had been used to in recent years, with both the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks hot on their heels in the battle for the division title.
A highly anticipated matchup between the Dodgers and Padres, separated by just three games at the start of the series, was exactly what the playoff atmosphere was expected to be like with just a week to go until the official start of the baseball season in October.
Tuesday night’s game saw their lead shrink as San Diego, on the back of a three-RBI night from Jake Cronenworth and a dominant performance on the mound from Michael King, made an improbable triple play to secure the 4-2 victoryWednesday’s game was also close, but the Dodgers were able to come from behind to beat the Padres 4-3 and come closer to a new NL West title.
The Padres still hold a 3 1/2 game lead over Arizona and the New York Mets in the battle for the top wild-card spot in the NL.
How did they get here?
This season was just one of the dominant seasons of the past decade. In addition to their NL West titles, they’ve had multiple players win major awards, a list that inevitably includes baseball’s very first 50-50 club member in Shohei Ohtani the season comes to an end.
The Dodgers were almost certain to take a lead in their division at the start of the year, and they did. However, they faced stiff competition from their division rivals throughout the season, leading to a narrow win on Thursday.
Somehow they bolstered the already incredible line-up when they signed Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani to his 10-year, $700 million contract in the offseason. They also signed another Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto And traded for proven ace Tyler Glasnow from the Rays, bolstering their deep starting rotation.
Injuries played a major role in the campaign, however, with every starting pitcher hitting the injured list at some point, a problem that continues to plague the team as October approaches. They currently have key players like Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and River Ryan still on the IL with no expectations of pitching in the playoffs.
It all seems normal for the Dodgers, who have thrived despite a slew of injuries. They were able to bring in a number of MLB-ready minor leaguers throughout the year and used them in every way possible to stake their claim as NL West champions. A string of similar seasons has seen them consistently earn their spot in October while fielding a variety of different players than they started the year with.
They’ve battled their way to the World Series three times in recent years, winning once in 2020 over the Tampa Bay Rays. Since then, however, their playoff run has been inexplicably disappointing, with two straight first-round exits in the National League Division Series, most recently to the Diamondbacks, who stunned them with a three-game sweep en route to their own World Series berth.
Despite significant roster turnover since their title, with key players like Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Justin Turner moving to other teams, they have still managed to continue their long run of success through free agent signings, deals and a deep minor league system that continues to produce star players on a yearly basis.
What now?
The Boys in Blue have three games left to finish the season, as they head to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies. They then have a first-round bye while they wait for their first postseason opponent, who will play each other in the wild card round.
If the season ended today, they would wait until they faced either the Padres or the New York Mets, after a best-of-three series, to see who advances to the NLDS.
