CINCINNATI — Sheets of plastic were already in place in the Great American Ball Park visiting clubhouse Thursday afternoon, attached to the ceiling with binder clips and folded up above the lockers, ready to be unfurled after the game for the Dodgers’ celebration.
It took an extra day for the Dodgers to let them down. But with their 8-2 win Thursday, they clinched the NL West division for the 13th time in 14 years. It was never much of a contest. The Dodgers widened their lead in the division to nine and a half games — before the conclusion of the Padres’ game against the Rockies.
“What’s funny is Los Angeles has always been looked at, as far as sports, a Laker town,” manager Dave Roberts said this week. “I don’t know, I think we might have market share now in Los Angeles.”
They are guaranteed, at the very least, home-field advantage in a wild-card series. The next week and a half, they’ll be playing for a first-round bye, straight into the National League Division Series.
On Thursday, however — as the offense surged from top to bottom and the bullpen-day pitching staff, headlined by Justin Wrobleski’s three perfect innings and Landon Knack’s four scoreless frames, quieted the Reds offense — was a chance for the Dodgers to celebrate what they’d done so far in the season.
It’s a big deal,” Roberts said. “It’s not easy. I think a lot of people think it’s easy, it’s a rite of passage. It’s not easy to win a division when everyone is gunning for you, to keep everyone motivated to play over the course of 162.
“It’s something we’re all really proud of but that’s not the end goal. Like I mentioned [Monday] night when we clinched the postseason berth, you have to celebrate those moments and then turn the page and look forward. But it’s exciting.”
As wide of a lead as the Dodgers have in the division race, their season hasn’t been smooth sailing.
At the beginning of the year, the rotation bore the brunt of the injury bug, with left-hander Blake Snell and right-hander Tyler Glasnow missing months of the season.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers’s two big deadline acquisitions didn’t make nearly the impact they were expected to.
Right fielder Kyle Tucker — who continued his recent hot streak with a single, two doubles and a home run on Thursday — is still on pace for the worst full season of his career. And reliever Edwin Díaz not only has spent most of the season on the IL but lost the closer spot with poor performance when he was healthy. He’s scheduled to be activated off the IL (neck inflammation) Friday.
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