The Dodgers spent Week 26 doing what they’ve done so often this month: stacking wins, slamming the door at home, and checking off milestones almost as an afterthought. They went 6-1, ran their September mark to 14 wins in 19 games, and stretched their home winning streak to 10 straight. By the end of the week, they had clinched a postseason berth, matched the Atlanta Braves record with 14 straight playoff appearances, and locked up a fifth consecutive National League West title.
That clinch came in Cincinnati on Thursday, when the Dodgers beat the Reds 8-2 to secure the division. It was their 13th win in 14 games.
Then they came home and kept rolling, finishing off a sweep of the Giants with another 8-2 win on Friday. The quirks didn’t stop there: the division-clinching win and the Friday follow-up both landed on 8-2 final scores, making it the first time in Dodgers history they’ve won consecutive games by that margin.
There’s still a little business left. Entering the final week of the regular season, the Dodgers can clinch a bye week with a magic number of three over the Braves.
At the plate, Kyle Tucker was the week’s biggest bat, continuing the surge he started in Miami. He went 9-for-20 with three home runs, two doubles, six walks and only one strikeout.
Mookie Betts earned honorable mention after tying a Dodgers record with three doubles on Saturday and putting together three straight games with at least three hits. Will Smith found his power again with two home runs and a double, and Alex Freeland reached base eight times in 14 trips, including a homer and a double.
On the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto set the tone with seven scoreless innings and seven strikeouts in Tuesday’s win over the Reds. It was his third straight seven-inning start in September, and this season he has now allowed zero or one run in 14 of his 27 starts. Honorable mention also went to Justin Wrobleski, who retired all nine hitters he faced with three strikeouts while starting Thursday’s division clincher, to Landon Knack, who picked up the win with four scoreless relief innings in that game, and to Emmet Sheehan, who kept his strong six-week run going with nine strikeouts over 5 1/3 scoreless frames on Sunday.
The home numbers have been especially loud. Sunday’s win was the Dodgers’ 50th at Dodger Stadium this season, giving them 10 straight home victories and six consecutive years with at least 50 home wins, plus seven straight full seasons dating back to 2019.
Since moving into Dodger Stadium, they had reached 50 home wins 12 times in 51 full seasons through 2014. Since 2015, they’ve done it 10 times in 11 full seasons.
The week also featured a franchise first on the strikeout front. Tyler Glasnow beat the Giants on Friday with six strong innings and 10 strikeouts, making him the eighth different Dodgers pitcher to post a 10-strikeout game this season. That’s the most in franchise history, and no other MLB team this year has more than five pitchers with a 10-K game.
Roster churn kept moving, too. Emmet Sheehan was optioned Monday, one day after his scoreless six-inning outing, with Paul Gervase coming up in his place.
Edgardo Henriquez landed on the injured list with low back discomfort after a rare poor outing, ending his regular season and clouding his playoff status, while Bobby Miller returned from Triple-A. Then on Wednesday, Kris Bubic was activated from the 60-day injured list and made his Dodgers debut in relief after being acquired just before the August 3 trade deadline.
Gervase was optioned and Ryan Ward was designated for assignment.
Bubic’s path is unusual enough to stand out. He made the All-Star team as a starter with the Kansas City Royals in 2025, then was on the 60-day injured list when the Dodgers got him.
He’s now working out of the bullpen and trying to carve out a postseason role. In three appearances, he has four strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.
“It’s just funk,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “It’s nothing overpowering, but there’s just funky swings, soft contact.
I see him as a neutral pitcher, gets left and right out. I like those converted starters, because he knows how to navigate lineups.”
The final box score of the week underscored just how many arms the Dodgers have used. Bubic became the 33rd different pitcher to appear for the club this season.
In total, the Dodgers used 17 pitchers across the week, including Yamamoto, Sheehan, Wrobleski, Glasnow, Landon Knack, Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Bubic, Brock Stewart, Edgardo Díaz, Michael Kopech? No-just the pitchers listed in the week’s totals: Yamamoto, Sheehan, Wrobleski, Skubal, Glasnow, Snell, Knack, Scott, Vesia, Bubic, Stewart, Díaz, Phillips, Treinen, Miller, Halvorsen and Dreyer.
Up next is the regular-season finish: the Padres come to Los Angeles before the Dodgers head to San Francisco for three more with the Giants. Andy Pages and Roki Sasaki are expected to be active for the Padres series beginning Tuesday.
Shohei Ohtani could return to the lineup as early as Wednesday. Blake Snell left his Wednesday start in Cincinnati with left groin tightness but was not placed on the injured list, and Roberts said over the weekend that if Snell starts this week, it would be in San Francisco.
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Dodgers Could Get A Massive Lift Right Before The Padres Series
The Dodgers are set up to get some much-needed reinforcement just as the rivalry heat turns up again. As they prepare for a series against the Padres, Los Angeles expects to bring designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, outfielder Andy Pages and right-hander Roki Sasaki off the injured list, giving the club a chance to deepen both its lineup and its pitching options at a pivotal point in the schedule.
Pages is targeting a return for Tuesday's opener after recovering from hand surgery, while Sasaki is expected to be available out of the bullpen in one of the games as he comes back from a blister on his hand. Ohtani, who has been progressing with running and hitting drills, is eligible to return on Wednesday and could wait until Thursday, leaving the Dodgers with a little suspense even as the lineup and staff begin to get healthier. [Read more 🡒]
Roki Sasakis New Dodgers Role Could Matter More Than Ever
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For a Dodgers team always balancing October and the long regular season, that kind of flexibility can matter. Sasaki showed he could handle relief work late last season, and the postseason only added to that rsum, so this move gives Los Angeles another weapon while it eases him back into the mix. What remains to be seen is how quickly the Dodgers lean into the bigger late-game role his recent track record suggests he can handle. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face One Big October Decision On Josue De Paula
Josue De Paulas sudden jump from Double-A Tulsa to the majors gave the Dodgers a fresh look at one of the more intriguing young hitters in the organization just as October came into focus. The move, prompted by Shohei Ohtanis injured-list placement, underscored how much the club valued De Paulas performance in the minors and how quickly he has climbed into the conversation for a postseason role as a designated hitter or corner outfielder.
The wrinkle is less about talent than eligibility, which can make these late-season roster calls feel like their own separate game. Because De Paula was not on the 40-man roster by Sept. 1, the Dodgers would need to go through the Commissioner's Office to have him included on the postseason roster, and that path depends on replacing an injured player who has already met the minimum injured-list requirement. For a team with championship expectations, it leaves one more October decision hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]