by Mark Langill
When they naughtily jumped into the swimming pool at Arizona’s ballpark to celebrate their 2013 National League West crown, the Dodger players looked like kids at a birthday party, playfully splashing one another in their soaked road uniforms. On dry land, executives clinked glasses and toasted the new ownership’s first full season in charge of a franchise, looking to right a once mighty ship.
Flash forward a dozen years, and everything has changed, except, of course, the winning and great expectations.
With an 8–0 victory over the Diamondbacks on Thursday, the reigning World Series champions won their 12th NL West title in 13 seasons. They had already clinched their 13th straight postseason appearance, tying the New York Yankees (1995–2007) for second on the all-time list behind the Atlanta Braves’ 14 seasons from 1991 to 2005.
Before the current streak, which includes 12 NL West crowns and a Wild Card berth after a 106-win campaign in 2021, the previous Brooklyn/Los Angeles franchise record for consecutive postseason appearances between 1890 and 2012 was two straight seasons on six occasions.
The biggest splash in the 2025 clincher was Shohei Ohtani’s 54th home run that landed into the pool behind the right field seats in the fourth inning, tying the franchise mark he established in 2024. Ohtani, who extended his on-base streak to 29 games, also set the Modern Era (1900) Dodger record with his 144th run, surpassing the 143 runs by Babe Herman in 1930. Hub Collins has the Dodger franchise record with 148 runs scored in 1890.
Overall, the Dodgers hit four home runs, including a pair by Freddie Freeman.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was excellent. He threw six shutout innings.
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There was no dogpile on the pitcher’s mound when reliever Anthony Banda closed out the shutout with a perfect ninth. Polite handshakes, hugs and smiles preceded the obligatory wardrobe change into NL West champion hats and T-shirts. The group posed for what they hope will be four team photos, matching the number of rounds in the postseason.
Dave Roberts told his team in the clubhouse to keep their edge for the next five weeks.
After Roberts’ speech, bottles popped and champagne flowed with a collective exhale, at least for a few days, as the Dodgers end the regular season with a weekend series in Seattle.
“We believe the National League West runs through Los Angeles,” Roberts said. “It took a lot to get to this point. I’m just so proud of the way these guys persevered. Everyone was accountable, and no one made excuses. We grew from a lot of adversity. And like I said in recent weeks, we’re playing our best baseball now.”
And while Los Angeles opens the best-of-three Wild Card Series on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, the blowout in Arizona gave pause for players to reflect and savor a division crown that wasn’t a slam dunk. The Dodgers led by as many as nine games on July 3 before the rest of the division rivals closed the gap.
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“It’s awesome to be able to win a division title,” Freeman said. “This is the first step of our goal. It’s fun to see all the first timers celebrating the division. It’s been a long year with a lot of grinding going on. We took a different route than we thought we were going to take. But in the end, we were able to accomplish our goal.”
For left-hander Clayton Kershaw, the celebration was bittersweet as the 18-year veteran announced on the last homestand that he will retire after the season.
Kershaw pitched one inning in relief in Wednesday’s 5–4 victory in 11 innings. He is scheduled to start the final regular-season game in Seattle on Sunday and could be a reliever in the postseason. In the clubhouse, he quickly ditched his shirt and savored the cold champagne as he celebrated with teammates.
“You don’t get this in your life very often,” Kershaw said. “You have to celebrate every single moment. Getting to celebrate something that has been very hard to get is special. I love this team. This is the best part of baseball. Yes, this means more, because it’s my last.”
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Arizona was originally scheduled to start Zac Gallen, but the Diamondbacks, who entered the game one game behind in the Wild Card standings, opted for a bullpen game.
Right-hander Jalen Beeks pitched a scoreless first inning, but Freeman opened the second inning with his 22nd home run. Andy Pages followed Freeman with his 27th home run off reliever Nabil Crismatt.
Freeman hit №23 in the fourth inning to give the Dodgers an 8–0 lead.
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Dodgers splash champagne as NL West champs was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.