Dodgers clinch 12th NL West title in last 13 seasons

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to reign atop the NL West.

With an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday at Chase Field, Los Angeles clinched its fourth straight division title and 12th in the last 13 seasons.

The division win locks the Dodgers into the NL's No. 3 seed, meaning they'll host the No. 6 seed in a best-of-three wild-card series at Dodger Stadium beginning Sept. 30. It also locks the San Diego Padres, who currently occupy the No. 5 seed, into a wild-card matchup with the Chicago Cubs.

"Winning the division title, you can never take it for granted," first baseman Freddie Freeman said, according to the Associated Press. "We feel like we're really starting to click."

L.A.'s most likely opponent is the New York Mets, who currently hold the final NL wild-card spot. However, the Mets - who play the Cubs on Thursday night at Wrigley Field - are just a half-game up on the Cincinnati Reds, who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the day. Arizona is still mathematically alive, although Thursday's loss dropped it one game behind Cincinnati and 1 1/2 back of the Mets with three contests left.

The Dodgers' run of 13 consecutive postseason berths is tied for the second-longest streak in MLB history. They've won the NL West in each of those seasons except 2021, when they lost the division to the San Francisco Giants by one game.