Baseball
Dodgers Clinch 4th Consecutive NL West Title
For the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto played starring roles in the defending World Series champions' division title-clinch victory.
The Los Angeles Dodgers trounced the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, September 25 in Phoenix, winning 8-0. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' team raised its record to 90-69 and clinched the National League West Division title.
Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8, 2.49 ERA) held the Diamondbacks to four hits and pitched six scoreless innings. Yamamoto issued two walks and struck out seven batters.
With his latest strong outing, Yamamoto now has 201 strikeouts. What's more, he's second in the NL in ERA during the 2025 MLB season.
"I managed to stay healthy all year," Yamamoto said, according to NK. "Being able to contribute as part of the team's strength throughout the season and seeing that translate into results makes me happy."
With one out in the fourth inning, reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani smacked a two-run home run, his 54th of the season, to right-center off Diamondbacks reliever Nabil Crismatt. That made it 6-0, and the Dodgers cruised to victory at Chase Field.
"That at-bat felt good," Ohtani said, according to NHK. "I hadn't been able to deliver in key spots earlier, so I was determined to make up for it."
The regular season ends on Sunday, September 28, and the playoffs start two days later. As of this writing, LA's first-round opponent is TBD. But by winning another division title, the Dodgers will play the best-of-three Wild Card Series at home.
The Dominance of the Dodgers
For more than a decade now, it's almost automatic: The Dodgers will be crowned champions of the NL West.
They've won four consecutive division titles and 12 titles in the past 13 seasons.
Reflecting on the team's play of late, Roberts said the Dodgers have improved as the postseason approaches.
"I do feel that in totality, we're playing our best baseball of the season," Roberts said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The win-loss [record] hasn't reflected it, but I think that's what's most important. There's just been a lot of good things and a lot of growth from a lot of players, which has been fun to see."
LA is 12-5 in its last 17 games.
Heading into their final series of the regular season, the Dodgers are 52-29 at home and 38-40 on the road. They face the Seattle Marines in the Pacific Northwest to wrap up the season.
Before their postseason quest to win another World Series gets underway, Ohtani paused to comment on the Dodgers' success to date.
"Everyone worked hard to get here, so it feels great," Ohtani was quoted as saying at Chase Field by NHK. "There's still more to come, but I want to fully enjoy today."
Ohtani added, "I believe if each of us does our job in the postseason, we can definitely win, so I'll give it my all."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.