The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the top seed in the National League and will officially face the winner of the Wild Card Game in the NL Division Series. By winning their game later Tuesday night, the Dodgers guaranteed themselves the best record in the NL.
Prior to that, L.A. earned the head-to-head tiebreak by way of sweeping a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in May and taking one off of three games at SunTrust Park last month. This year’s Dodgers team is the eighth in franchise to reach 100 wins and the second to do so in the past three seasons.
Though in 2017, the Dodgers went 104-58 to finish with the best record in baseball and home-field advantage through the World Series. They face an uphill battle to secure that this season, as the Houston Astros are atop the MLB standings and followed by the New York Yankees.
The Dodgers remain mathematically alive to potentially overtake the American League powerhouses, but certainly are hard-pressed to do so with only a handful of games remaining.
While the top seed was still hanging in the balance, the Dodgers secured home-field advantage in the NLDS shortly after clinching a seventh consecutive NL West title. Under the current landscape, the Dodgers are due to face the Washington Nationals or Milwaukee Brewers in the first round.
The Braves have of course clinched the NL East, and the St. Louis Cardinals have the inside track in the Central, which would leave the Brewers to continue vying for the Wild Card Game. The Nationals clinched a postseason berth by sweeping Tuesday’s doubleheader.
Milwaukee currently occupies the second spot in the Wild Card Game and magic number to punch their ticket to October baseball down to just one.
L.A. went 4-3 against both the Brewers and Nationals this year. They scored and allowed 27 runs during the regular-season series with Milwaukee, and narrowly edged Washington 30-27.
If the Cardinals fall to the Wild Card Game and advance to the NLDS, they may find some solace in taking four of seven games against the Dodgers. Though, that was strictly built on a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium during the second week of the season.
After the Dodgers returned the favor by taking all three games at Dodger Stadium in August, Jack Flaherty complimented them and predicted the Cardinals would do their part for an October matchup.
The Dodgers’ most recent postseason history is with the Brewers, having just matched up with them in the 2017 NLCS that was a thrilling seven games. L.A. also went the distance with the Nationals in the 2016 NLDS, and lost to the Cardinals in four games when they last faced them in 2014.
Games 1 and 2 of this year’s NLDS will be played at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 3 and 4.
