The Los Angeles Dodgers just locked up their playoff spot, grabbing their 91st win of the season with a 4-1 victory over the Reds on Monday night. It is their 14th straight year making the postseason, which is wild enough on its own, but what this team is chasing is way bigger than just another October trip.
History Calls: Can Anyone Stop This Dynasty?
Seriously, 14 years in a row making the playoffs? And when they inevitably clinch the NL West, it will be their 13th division title in that same span. The only year they missed it was 2021 when they won 106 games and still beat the 107-win Giants in the playoffs. They are the two-time defending World Series champions, already snagging five NL pennants and three World Series titles in this run. If they pull off the threepeat this season, which everyone knows they are trying to do, they are 100% cemented as an all-time dynasty with four rings in seven years.
Think about it: no team has threepeated since those legendary 1998-2000 Yankees. Only three other teams in history have ever done it, and two of those were also Yankees squads. The Dodgers came into this year as the favorites for a reason, and they still are. They have the top payroll in baseball and a ridiculous three former MVP winners on the roster. They are gunning for that first-round bye, but honestly, does it even matter for them? They won the World Series as the No. 1 overall seed in 2024, and then again as the three seed in 2025, even having to play in the Wild Card Series. They have been swept as a one seed before, so these guys know it is about getting hot at the right time. They are just loaded, plain and simple.
The Pitching Is Beyond Ridiculous
Okay, so how do they actually do this? The big answer is their pitching, especially now. The rotation was a bit shaky in 2024, but last season, they got it all lined up with four absolute studs: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. They rode those guys straight to the title. This year, injuries tried to mess things up a bit, but then they made a midseason trade that just feels unfair.
Yes, Ohtani is probably not pitching again this season, but his “replacement” is a two-time Cy Young winner. That is not an exaggeration. We are talking about Tarik Skubal, who won the AL Cy Young for the Tigers in both 2024 and 2025. He has 6 games of playoff experience with a nasty 2.04 career ERA in those outings. He missed some time earlier this season, but he is already back with 146 ⅔ innings logged and a 2.52 ERA since joining the Dodgers. And then there is Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP last season! This dude is 13-8 with a 2.62 ERA in 172 innings this season. Last year, he threw 211 innings between the regular season and playoffs. He is absolutely ready to go deep into October.
The Dodgers are heading into the postseason with that kind of pitching, and you have to wonder what team in the National League is actually going to stop them. They just clinched, but the real hunt for history starts now. Get ready for some wild October baseball.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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