The Dodgers are back where they usually end up: on top of the NL West.
Los Angeles clinched the division Thursday with a win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. A San Diego Padres loss would have done the job too, but the Dodgers handled it themselves and sealed their 13th NL West title since 2013.
That adds another line to a run that already reads like a modern baseball blueprint. The Dodgers have now reached the postseason in 14 straight seasons, and this is their 24th division title overall. Their current October streak is tied with the 1991-2005 Atlanta Braves for the most consecutive playoff appearances in MLB history.
“It’s a big deal,” manager Dave Roberts said as the Dodgers sat on the doorstep of another division title. “It’s not easy.
I think a lot of people think that it’s easy, it’s a rite of passage. It’s hard to win a division when everyone’s gunning for you.
“To keep guys motivated to play the course of 162 (games). It’s something we’re all really proud of, but really understand that that’s not the end goal.
But like I mentioned the other night when we clinched a postseason berth, you’ve got to celebrate those moments. And then turn the page and look forward.
Even with the one-year interruption when the San Francisco Giants snapped their streak of consecutive NL West crowns at eight in 2021, the Dodgers have kept piling up milestones. In 2016, they became the first team in MLB history to win the NL West in four straight seasons since the Divisional Era started in 1969. Their eventual run of eight straight division titles ranked behind only the Braves’ 14 and the Yankees’ nine for the most consecutive division crowns since 1969.
Roberts has been right in the middle of it. During that stretch, he set a record by leading the Dodgers to an NL West title in each of his first five seasons.
In 2019, he became the first manager in MLB history to guide a club to a division title in each of his first four full seasons. He had already joined Tommy Lasorda, who did it in 1977, as the only rookie managers in Dodgers history to deliver a division title.
Earlier this year, Roberts also became the latest Dodgers manager to reach 1,000 career wins.
The numbers keep stacking up in another category too. This is the 13th straight full season the Dodgers have won at least 90 games, breaking a tie with the Yankees for the longest such streak in MLB history.
Their last full season below 90 wins came in 2012. On top of that, the Dodgers now own the NL record with 16 consecutive winning seasons.
The division title also has immediate postseason implications. At minimum, the Dodgers are locked into a top-three seed in the NL bracket.
They’re currently No. 2, which would earn them a first-round bye. Their magic number for a top-two seed is six, and they’re four games ahead of the Braves, but they would need to finish with the better record because they do not hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Thursday’s clinch also fits neatly into the franchise’s recent history of locking up the West before the final weekend. The Dodgers’ division-clinching dates since 2013 have come on Sept.
19, 2013; Sept. 24, 2014; Sept.
29, 2015; Sept. 25, 2016; Sept.
22, 2017; Sept. 1, 2018; Sept.
10, 2019; Sept. 22, 2020; Sept.
13, 2022; Sept. 16, 2023; Sept.
26, 2024; Sept. 25, 2025; and Sept. 17, 2026.
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Josue De Paula Just Changed A Real Dodgers October Debate
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De Paulas contribution in his home debut adds another layer to a lineup already built for October noise, and its the kind of performance that can make a front office pause when the calendar tightens. The Dodgers have spent much of the season sorting out how their best version looks, and games like this only sharpen the conversation about who belongs in the mix when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]