As the wait for the 2020 Major League Baseball season continues, every game from 2018 and 2019 are available to stream for free on MLB.TV. Thus, DodgerBlue.com ranked the best Los Angeles Dodgers games from each of the two seasons.
After concluding the rankings for 2018, the list for 2019 begins with the Dodgers clinching a seventh consecutive National League West title and setting multiple records along the way.
Needing one win to wrap up the division, the Dodgers traveled to Camden Yards for a late-season Interleague matchup against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 10.
L.A. jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning of the series opener, courtesy of Cody Bellinger’s RBI single and a three-run home run off the bat of Corey Seager.
Meanwhile on the mound, Walker Buehler was his usual dominant self, retiring 12 of the first 14 batters faced. He finished the night with seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and collecting 11 strikeouts — lowering his season ERA to 3.14 in the process.
The Dodgers at one point led 7-0, receiving additional home runs from Seager and Gavin Lux. They ultimately came away with a 7-3 victory and were crowned NL West champs for a seventh straight season.
The Dodgers became the fastest team in L.A. franchise history to clinch the division by both date and games played. They did so in the 146th game of the season, which bested the 1977 club that wrapped up the division in Game 151.
The 2019 Dodgers additionally capped off the NL West by the largest margin in franchise history with an 18-game lead in the division. The previous franchise mark in a clinching game was held by the 1955 team that won the NL by 13.5 games and went on to win the World Series as well.
When it was all said and done, the Dodgers finished 21 games ahead of the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks. That not only set a franchise record for best first-place finish, but also a new NL West record for largest margin of victory.
The Dodgers, of course, set a franchise record with 106 wins and a Dodger Stadium record by winning 59 home games.
While the club was poised to return to the World Series for a third consecutive season, they suffered an early postseason exit to the Washington Nationals — dropping the NL Division Series in five games.
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