The Dodgers are back in the postseason, and Monday’s win over the Cincinnati Reds did more than punch their ticket. It pushed Los Angeles into a place no other club in baseball has reached: a 14-year playoff streak, matching the Braves’ 1991-2005 run for the longest in MLB history.
That clinch didn’t come easy. The Dodgers had been in a postseason scenario since Saturday, but back-to-back losses to the Miami Marlins over the weekend kept them from sealing the deal.
When play began Monday, they still had two ways in: win their own game, or get help from losses by the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. The Dodgers handled the first part themselves.
Los Angeles is now one of just three teams across both leagues to lock up a playoff berth. The Milwaukee Brewers got in last Friday, and the Tampa Bay Rays joined them in the American League with their win Friday as well.
The Dodgers’ place in the record book fits a bigger run of consistency. In 2016, they became the first team in MLB history to win the NL West four straight years since the Divisional Era started in 1969.
That streak eventually stretched to eight consecutive division titles before the Giants broke it with their surprise 2021 season. Even so, only the Braves and Yankees have longer division-title streaks since 1969.
Earlier this season, Los Angeles also set an NL mark with its 16th straight winning season, moving past the 2008-22 St. Louis Cardinals, 1991-2005 Braves, 1939-1953 Cardinals and 1899-1913 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Now the focus shifts to the NL West. Monday’s win trimmed the Dodgers’ magic number to three, and their recent eight-game winning streak - sparked by Teoscar Hernández’s walk-off hit on Sept. 3 - helped power the climb.
The division title is the next box to check, but seeding still matters. The Dodgers entered October as the No. 3 seed in the NL last year and still ended up with the commissioner’s trophy. This time, though, they’d clearly prefer to skip the Wild Card Series.
They currently hold a narrow edge over the Braves for the No. 2 seed in the National League and remain within range of the Brewers for the best record in baseball. The catch: last month’s struggles left Los Angeles without the head-to-head tiebreaker against either club.
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Dodgers Bullpen Just Took A Brutal Hit At The Worst Time
The Dodgers relief depth took another hit when Edgardo Henriquez landed on the 15-day injured list with low back discomfort, a move that ends his regular season. It was the kind of late-season setback Los Angeles can least afford, especially with the bullpen already in flux and every available arm carrying extra importance down the stretch.
To fill Henriquezs spot, the Dodgers recalled Bobby Miller to the active roster, another sign of how aggressively they are trying to keep the pitching staff pieced together. The roster churn did not stop there, either, as Emmet Sheehan was optioned and Paul Gervase was also brought back earlier in the day, leaving the club to keep sorting through its bullpen options with the calendar working against it. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Bullpen Picture Is Turning Against Edwin Daz Fast
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Kris Bubic, meanwhile, is giving the organization a more encouraging bullpen storyline from Triple-A, turning in scoreless innings with a strong strikeout rate as he moves through his own assignment. The bigger picture in the system has some positives too, from Jake Gelofs modern-era Tulsa home run record to the Drillers playoff push with reinforcements arriving, but for the Dodgers the immediate concern is still how quickly the relief mix can solidify without counting on Daz. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Create An October Dilemma With Surprising Pitching Decision
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Emmet Sheehans demotion also creates a wrinkle for the Dodgers pitching plans going forward, since he cannot return before the end of the regular season unless another player is injured. For a team trying to line up arms with the postseason in view, losing that kind of depth, even temporarily, adds another layer of intrigue to how the staff will be managed over the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]