The Los Angeles Dodgers just clinched the National League West on Thursday, beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 at Great American Ball Park. They were overwhelming favorites for the division crown, and they locked it down with a week and a half left in the season, becoming only the second MLB team this year to clinch. But man, did their path to the title not go anywhere near what everyone expected.
In that clinching game, the Dodgers brought a mix of everything. You had the vets doing their thing, like Max Muncy with two hits, including a two-run double, and Freddie Freeman snagging two hits, a walk, and scoring two runs. Then there was the new blood stepping up, with Josue De Paula hitting an RBI single in just his seventh big league game. And check out the “borrowed” help: Seth Halvorsen, snagged from the Rockies in a July trade, came in to get those final three outs. It all meant the NL West turned Dodger blue for the fifth year in a row, and a crazy 13th time in the last 14 seasons.
Coming off back-to-back World Series titles, the first team to do that in a quarter-century, the Dodgers splashed serious cash in free agency. They signed both Edwin Díaz, the best closer available, and Kyle Tucker, the top hitter on the market, to record-setting contracts. Guess what? Neither one really worked out in their first year. Díaz has been both terrible and injured, with the injury definitely making things worse. Tucker? Severely underwhelming, especially at home, and he’s been having the worst full season of his career. He wasn’t alone in the outfield struggles either. Teoscar Hernández was almost platooned, and with both Tucker and Hernández playing poor defense, they were barely above replacement level for most of the season. Plus, Mookie Betts had a second straight tough year offensively.
But hold up, something clicked in September. Hernández, finally healthy and back to his old swing, has been on fire in his last 16 games. He’s hitting a ridiculous .375/.485/.679 with eight extra-base hits and 18 RBI, even crushing a two-run homer in Monday’s win that clinched a playoff berth. Tucker also found his groove, smacking a two-run home run and two doubles in Thursday’s division clincher, riding a red-hot .375/.467/.917 road trip with six extra-base hits, nine runs scored, and nine RBI in seven games. Even Betts turned it around, hitting .327/.431/.618 with a 187 wRC+ this month. Health has been a factor, too. Andy Pages has been out for four weeks with a broken left hand, but might be back on the upcoming homestand. Will Smith, who missed three months with a neck injury, is back and finding his form, with hits in six of his last seven starts. The big mystery? Shohei Ohtani, their best player. They’ve gotten almost nothing from him since mid-August. His last home run was August 18, and since then, in 13 games, he’s got just six hits in 49 at-bats. It’s been a wild ride for the Dodgers, but they got the job done. Now, what’s next for them to get everyone firing for real?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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