LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers left Camelback Ranch in March and boarded a protracted flight to Seoul, South Korea, they laid all of their plans out in entrance of them.
Their greatest objective, after all, is to win the World Series. That’s the expectation the Dodgers all the time have on them, however particularly after spending greater than $1 billion in contracts this winter. But earlier than they may embark on that journey, the Dodgers’ first objective was to win the National League West.
With a 7-2 win over the Padres on Thursday at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers continued probably the most dominant runs in Major League historical past, securing their eleventh NL West title in 12 seasons.
“They all feel sweet, but I’ll tell you, man, with what we’ve gone through this year, this feels a tick sweeter,” mentioned Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “I’m just so proud of these guys, the way that we’ve fought the adversity, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard-fought; we earned it.”
Coming into the season, the Dodgers carried extra expectations — each exterior and inner — than another workforce within the Majors. That’s what comes with signing Shohei Ohtani, arguably the very best participant in baseball, to the largest contract in American sports activities over the winter, pairing him with superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
But even with a star-studded roster, the Dodgers weren’t proof against the adversity that comes with taking part in a 162-game marathon. In truth, the Dodgers needed to navigate by extra accidents than most groups, significantly with their beginning pitchers. All 5 hurlers that opened the season within the rotation had been positioned on the injured record a minimum of as soon as or had been traded.
“You had a lot of guys step up and a lot of guys go down,” mentioned Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who's at present on the injured record and received’t be out there for the National League Division Series. “So you got to give a lot of credit to the guys that were there from April to September. They really carried us, gave everybody time to get healthy and come back. And, you know, we don’t have everybody we want. But I definitely think we have enough to do something special.”
On the offensive facet, the Dodgers went months with out Betts and Max Muncy. Freeman needed to step away from the workforce for 2 weeks as he handled a household matter, and he additionally left Thursday’s recreation with a sprained proper ankle, persevering with the dangerous harm luck this season.
Through all that, nonetheless, the Dodgers — though it bought shut on the finish — by no means wavered.
“For us to go out there and keep grinding, fighting,” Freeman mentioned. “I mean, we do have the best record [in the Majors] — I know we fought really hard, but when you take a step back, we’ve had a really, really good year.”
As was the case all season lengthy, Thursday’s win didn’t come straightforward for the Dodgers. But but once more, they discovered a means.
After getting dominated for six innings by Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, the Dodgers waited for his or her alternative. Muncy drew a leadoff stroll within the seventh and Will Smith, one of many gamers locked as much as a long-term deal earlier than the season, hit a game-tying two-run blast.
Four batters later, Ohtani hit a go-ahead RBI single. Betts then adopted with the dagger, a two-run single to cap off the five-run body.
“I’m really happy,” Ohtani, who went by his first champagne celebration within the Majors, mentioned by interpreter Will Ireton. “Today, I came to the stadium really wanting to clinch, and I’m happy we did that today. This series was something special. It was something that stood out for me over the year. Obviously, to be able to clinch it is the reason I am here [with the Dodgers].”
Their path to a title was totally different than it has been in previous seasons. The Dodgers didn’t take pleasure in a double-digit lead atop the division down the stretch. This one got here right down to the wire in arguably the very best division in baseball. But ultimately, the extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical: The NL West nonetheless runs by Los Angeles.
“It would’ve been easy for us to make excuses,” Roberts mentioned. “You lose three, four, five, six, seven starters. Write the season off. But not one person in this clubhouse did that. We never once made any excuses. We continued to stick together, to fight and now, we got a ticket to the dance. Anything can happen.”
