MIAMI (AP) — It has become a fall tradition: The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading toward the playoffs.
The Dodgers secured their 12th consecutive postseason berth on Thursday with a 20:4 victory of the Miami Marlins on the same night that star hitter Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs and stole two bases to first player in Major League history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season.
The magic number the NL West-leading Dodgers need to win the NL West has dropped to six. They have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers and are gunning for second place in the NL and a first-round playoff bye. They lead the division by four games over the San Diego Padres.
The New York Yankees and Brewers were the first teams to secure a playoff spot on Wednesday. The Cleveland Guardians had already secured a playoff spot on Thursday.
Los Angeles has won at least 90 games in each of the last 11 seasons, playing 162 games. The Dodgers’ only non-division title during that span was in 2021, when they won 107 games and finished one game behind NL West champion San Francisco.
However, the Dodgers have only won one World Series title during this period. They won all of them in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Ohtani hit two doubles, a single and scored 10 runs on Thursday, a franchise-best effort. He nearly completed the cycle, but was thrown out at third while trying to turn his second double into a triple in the third inning.
Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last December, is reaching the postseason for the first time in his career after never doing so during his six years with the Los Angeles Angels.
“I changed teams this year and my goal was always to make the playoffs,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I worked really hard for that and I’m really happy we did it.”
His teammate Mookie Betts added: “I think we’ll see Shohei at his best when he gets into that atmosphere.”
The postgame celebration in the clubhouse on Thursday was brief. After a quick champagne toast, the Dodgers turned their attention to what’s next – a trip back to Los Angeles to host Colorado on Friday.
“We have to go west,” said manager Dave Roberts. “And we have to understand that we’re playing against teams that are hot on our heels. We still have a lot of work to do.”
The Dodgers will play a three-game series against the Rockies and Padres in their final home game before closing the season with a three-game series in Colorado.
“The goal is to win the last game in October,” Roberts said, “but you still have to enjoy the moments. And it’s been a tough season with a lot of challenges. When something like this happens tonight, you have to enjoy it.”
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