LOS ANGELES -- Before the Dodgers even took the field on Thursday night, they had something to celebrate.
After the Braves' 7-6 loss to the Reds, the Dodgers clinched one of the top two records in the National League and a first-round bye in the postseason. They will have home-field advantage in the best-of-five NL Division Series, which begins on Oct. 3.
The Dodgers could make a play for the top seed in the NL, which would give them home-field advantage at least through the NL Championship Series, but they trail the 100-win Brewers by 2 1/2 games with four left to play. Milwaukee also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series.
In their back-to-back championship seasons, the Dodgers earned a bye in 2024 but were unable to bypass the Wild Card round in '25. With the bye in hand again in '26, they know they'll have to win 11 postseason games to pull off a three-peat, which would be the first in the Majors since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
The bye is more a need than a luxury for the Dodgers, who have several players who are dealing with lingering injuries, such as Freddie Freeman (right patellar tendinitis), or who have just returned from the IL, such as Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages. Having an additional five days off can help L.A. get closer to full strength before its title defense begins in earnest.
“I think we all know why it’s important," Freeman said earlier this week. "There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here, a lot of aches and pains this year. It’s good to get those guys back on the field, get some ABs in them and then rest up and get some more ABs during the lives and whatever we do here in that week to get us ready for [NLDS Game 1].”
The Dodgers' potential opponents for the NLDS remain up in the air. If they end the season with the No. 2 seed, the NL East-champion Braves would be on their side of the bracket, but the NL Wild Card standings will be decided during the final weekend of the regular season. The Cubs, Phillies and Padres are the main teams in the mix.