Dodgers clinch 10th NL West title in 11 years with win over Mariners

The NL West still goes through Los Angeles.

In a season in which they faced more questions than ever about their status as MLB's steadiest team, the Dodgers put the finishing touches on their 10th division title in 11 years with a 6-2 win over the Seattle Mariners in extra innings Saturday.

The Dodgers and Mariners both went scoreless in the first nine innings, then scored the ghost runner and only the ghost runner in the 10th. The Dodgers retook the lead in the 11th with a Max Muncy single, then broke the game open with a two-run Chris Taylor single.

Kiké Hernández followed with another two-run single to put the game fully out of reach in Seattle.

The win improved the Dodgers' record to 90-57, 13.5 games ahead of the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks. The Atlanta Braves, who have already clinched the NL East, loom six games ahead for the top spot in the NL and the wild-card bye that comes with it.

The only year since 2013 in which the Dodgers didn't win the division was 2021, when their 106 wins weren't enough to top the San Francisco Giants.

For as early as the Dodgers clinched the division, they spent much of this season in a dogfight with the D-backs. Arizona led the division at the All-Star break, but a 5-19 stretch afterward saw them slide down the standings. The Dodgers held serve and were up double digits by Aug. 16.

Obviously, the Dodgers have plenty more work to do. Winning 10 division titles in 11 years is impressive; winning one World Series in that span is less so. Every player on the team is going to be aware of that. But given what the Dodgers have dealt with this season, coming out of it with a division title is pretty impressive.

Dodgers weren't the automatic NL West pick this season but still finished like it

It hasn't been an easy season for the Dodgers, especially when it comes to the rotation.

The team lost starting shortstop Gavin Lux, the Trea Turner replacement, to a torn ACL in spring training. Neither Walker Buehler (Tommy John surgery) nor Blake Treinen (shoulder) pitched an inning this season. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May both went down with season-ending surgeries, while free-agent signing Noah Syndergaard posted a 7.16 ERA in a Dodgers uniform. And the less said about Julio Urías, the better at this point.

How did the Dodgers make up for all those losses and disappointments? Well, MVP candidates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were a good start, as were strong campaigns from Will Smith, Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez at the plate. Only the Braves had a higher OPS (.844) in MLB than the Dodgers' .800 this season entering Saturday.

On the mound, Clayton Kershaw has been his usual self at the ripe age of 35, with a 2.61 ERA in 117 1/3 innings, while the Dodgers turned to pitching prospects Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Emmett Sheehan and Gavin Stone to fill out their depleted rotation, with varying success.

An active trade deadline also helped things, despite the Dodgers' acquiring seemingly nothing but players with negative wins above replacement at that point in the season. Hernández, Amed Rosario, Lance Lynn, Ryan Yarbrough and Joe Kelly all provided stabilizing reinforcements.