In what has become a fall custom, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to the playoffs.
The Dodgers clinched their 12th consecutive postseason berth Thursday with a 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on the same night that star slugger Shohei Ohtani homered three times and stole two bases to become the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.
The magic number for the NL West-leading Dodgers to clinch the NL West dropped to six. They hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in their pursuit of the NL's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. They lead the San Diego Padres by four games in the division.
The New York Yankees and Brewers became the first teams to clinch playoff berths on Wednesday. The Cleveland Guardians secured a playoff spot earlier Thursday.
Los Angeles has won at least 90 games in each of the last 11 162-game seasons. The Dodgers' only non-division title during the span was in 2021, when they won 107 games and finished one game behind NL West champion San Francisco.
