By one measure, these Los Angeles Dodgers stand shoulder to shoulder with the great Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990s.
The Dodgers clinched their 14th consecutive playoff berth Monday, Sept. 14 by defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1. That victory ensured the Dodgers (91-59) would stretch their playoff streak to 14 years, tying the Braves for the longest consecutive postseason run in Major League Baseball
history.Thirteen of the Dodgers' postseason trips have come by winning the National League West; their lone wild-card berth in this stretch came in 2021, when they won 106 games, one fewer than the San Francisco Giants. The 1991-2005 Braves won 14 consecutive NL East titles — the 1994 strike-shortened season crowned no champion — under Hall of Fame
manager Bobby Cox.
Yet the Dodgers have three World Series titles — 2020, 2024 and 2025, and working on a fourth — while the Braves' lone championship came in 1995.
How the Dodgers clinched
They nailed down a playoff berth in a manner befitting their organizational might. Kyle Tucker, signed in the offseason to a contract that pays him a record $60 million annually, got the scoring started with a solo homer off Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo in the second inning. Teoscar Hernández followed with a two-run shot for a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
The longballs came in support of left-hander Tarik Skubal, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner acquired from the Detroit Tigers for a package of elite prospects at the trade deadline. Skubal pitched seven shutout innings, striking out nine Reds and giving up just three singles. The Dodgers have won his past five starts and his ERA is now 2.52 since the trade to L.A.
How the Dodgers got here
It wasn't quite wire-to-wire, but the Dodgers faced little competitive tension this season. They won nine of their first 11 games and 15 of their first 19 and spent just four days in May in second place, a half-game behind the Padres. The Dodgers took over first place for good after winning the final two games of a three-game series against San Diego May 19-20.
Not that there weren't hurdles. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani landed on the injured list for the first time as a Dodger in September, as knee, tricep and neck maladies proved too much for him even at the plate. He will not pitch again this season. Lefty Blake Snell did not pitch until May 9, made one start and then landed on the IL for three more months following surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow.
Closer Edwin Díaz, signed to a two-year, $69 million deal, required elbow surgery and is struggling in a late-season minor league rehab assignment. All-Star center fielder Andy Pages needed surgery after an August hand fracture and hopes to return in time for the postseason.
Yet it's been another dominant run for a club attempting a three-peat. Skubal joined All-Star and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto atop the rotation at the trade deadline and Snell returned last month.
Veteran third baseman Max Muncy, 36, is having an excellent year, with 28 home runs and an .850 OPS, and needs two homers to tie Ohtani for the team lead.
What's next for the Dodgers?
They will clinch the NL West any day now, with a magic number of two after their win Monday. Another win in Cincinnati paired with two Padres losses at Colorado would give them the division. They entered Monday with a three-game lead over Atlanta for the No. 2 seed in the NL and a first-round bye.
The Dodgers didn't need a bye to win the World Series last year, dispatching Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Milwaukee to reach the Fall Classic. Yet given Ohtani's pitching unavailability and health uncertainty, they'd certainly welcome the bye.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers clinch 14th consecutive playoff berth, tie Braves for MLB record
