Dodgers clinch 4th straight NL West title, 12th in last 13 years

PHOENIX -- Thirteen straight postseason appearances have taught the Dodgers not to take anything for granted. After more than a decade of dominance, they came into this season with the expectation of reclaiming their NL West crown.

That's why manager Dave Roberts did not describe the feeling as “relief” when the Dodgers clinched the division with an 8-0 win over the D-backs on Thursday afternoon. Through all the ups and downs of Los Angeles' title defense, he firmly believed that his team would wind up right where it belonged: atop the NL West once more.

"There was no doubt in my mind," Roberts said, "that this team wasn’t going to get it done."

Even with that certainty, the visitors' clubhouse at Chase Field -- which had been prepared since the morning, with sheets of protective plastic clipped onto the walls, waiting to be unrolled -- was the site of a cathartic celebration as the Dodgers celebrated their 12th division title in 13 years.

Champagne and beer splashed across the room and pooled on the floor, which some players and personnel were treating as a slip-and-slide. The air was smoky with cigars. At the center of it all was Clayton Kershaw, taking in this type of regular-season celebration for the last time in his career.

"This is what I'm going to miss," Kershaw said. "Pitching, all that stuff is great. I love that, too. But getting to do this with a group of guys that all are working towards a collective goal for as long as we are, that's what you miss. The camaraderie, the bonding, everybody going through something hard and coming out on the other side. That's really special. You don't get that anywhere else."

The defending World Series champions shook off the second-place Padres, who lurked no more than four games back throughout the final two months of the regular season. And they locked down the West in a fitting way: Behind a strong start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a power show from Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages.

Yamamoto, their only rotation member who did not miss a start this year, ended his regular season with a gem, striking out seven across six scoreless innings.

Freeman and Pages hit back-to-back homers to open the scoring in the second, and Ohtani tied his own career high -- along with the franchise record -- with his 54th homer before Freeman went deep again to give the Dodgers a commanding eight-run lead through four innings, more than enough for a volatile bullpen to work with.

"I know at the end of Spring Training, everyone was talking about our ‘superteam,’" Freeman said. "But I think we all know, you go on the field, play it on the field. We know we have great talent on this team. But a lot of bumps we hit. Not the smoothest of rides to get here. But we got here.”

No team has repeated as World Series champions in a quarter century. The Yankees, who won three in a row from 1998-2000, are the most recent club to successfully defend their title. This year, the Dodgers have gained a deep appreciation for why it is so difficult to go back-to-back.

"It hasn't been easy, but that's part of it," Roberts said. "It shouldn't be easy."

The Dodgers swung big with an aggressive offseason, but their high-powered roster did not lay waste to all-time records and dominate as many thought they would. They notched their 90th win on Thursday and can win no more than 93 this year, which would rank among their lower win totals in a full season in the 13 straight years they've advanced to the postseason.

"It takes a lot. I think this year, you saw it more than ever," Max Muncy said. "We got taxed quite a bit this year. When you make deep playoff runs every year, it takes a toll on guys' bodies. And this year, I think you saw it more than ever. We're not done yet. We still have a long way to go. But this team's special. This group is special. We've been through a lot, so this is a special group."

Because the Brewers and Phillies secured first-round byes, the Dodgers will have to play in the NL Wild Card round for the first time since 2021, before the format changed to a best-of-three series. They will host the sixth seed in the NL, for which multiple teams are still in the running.

After playing through adversity to bring home the eighth World Series title in franchise history last season, the Dodgers know what it takes to go all the way. This year, they'll have to win two more postseason games -- 13 in total -- to repeat as champions.

"Outside of faith and family," Roberts said, "this has got to be the most important … five weeks of our lives. Regardless of what we’ve done before -- none of that matters. It’s more about playing for each other, trusting each other and playing for a championship."