The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first of ten teams to punch their ticket to the MLB Postseason on Thursday, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 to clinch the NL West championship. Getting to the point where they could clinch was difficult for Los Angeles, as they lost five of their last six games heading into Thursday's series-ending tilt in Phoenix.
After falling behind to the Diamondbacks 6-3, the Dodgers rallied back late, scoring a pair of runs in the sixth inning to make it a 6-5 game, and tying the game in the seventh on a solo home run by Hanley Ramirez. AJ Ellis led off the eighth inning with a home run off of Josh Collmenter to put the Dodgers in front, and after a perfect two innings by Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles had preserved the victory and earned their first playoff berth since 2009.
The Dodgers' work isn't done yet, because their current 88-65 record is the worst among the three NL division leaders, meaning that they'd start the playoffs on the road in St Louis, who are 89-63 pending the completion of their game in Colorado on Thursday afternoon. The Braves currently hold the NL's top seed, but with a 90-62 record, they're not exactly far in front of the pack.
The Dodgers are the only team that will clinch a playoff spot today, but they could be joined by several teams over the next few days. Atlanta's magic number in the NL East is two, while the Cardinals' magic number for clinching a playoff berth is three, the Pirates are four, and the Reds are at five. In the AL, the Red Sox can clinch a playoff berth with one win or one loss by the Indians, but their magic number to clinch the AL East is at three. Oakland's magic number for a playoff berth is four, and their magic number for the AL West crown is at five. Finally there's the AL Central, where the Tigers' magic number is sitting at four.
Congratulations to the Dodgers, who were left for dead at 30-42 on the morning of June 22nd before going on an insane 58-23 run to take over as the top dog in the NL West. That .716 winning percentage is just gross, and before their current 5-10 stretch began, the club was on a 53-13 run, which translates to an .803 winning percentage. That's just not fair.
