Skip to content

Dodgers officially clinch playoff spot after Sunday false start

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The second time's the charm.

After believing they had clinched a playoff spot for the 10th straight year following Sunday's rout of the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers had to wait one more game to make it official. It only took roughly 24 hours, though, as they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-0 on Monday to punch their ticket to the postseason.

The Dodgers are the first team to lock up a spot in the 2022 postseason, currently boasting a 97-43 record with an MLB-best plus-316 run differential. If the playoffs began Tuesday, Los Angeles would have a first-round bye as the National League's top seed.

L.A.'s magic number to clinch the NL West title is now down to one. The Dodgers will have a chance to secure their ninth division crown in 10 years on Tuesday in Arizona with Clayton Kershaw on the mound.

Following Sunday's victory, the team received commemorative hats with postseason patches and had a small celebration in the clubhouse. However, MLB made an error in the first season of the expanded playoffs, ignoring a tiebreaker that still made it possible - though highly improbable - that the Dodgers would miss the postseason.

Los Angeles holds a colossal nine-game lead over the New York Mets for the top seed in the NL. With a winning percentage of .693, the Dodgers are currently on pace to post a 112-50 record. While the win total would be the best in franchise history, it wouldn't eclipse their .717 win percentage from the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when they went on to win the World Series.

The 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners hold the record for most wins in a single season with 116. That Cubs team also boasts the best win percentage ever at .763, with MLB teams playing 152 games back then.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox