With NL West Clinched Behind Kershaw, Dodgers Are a Dangerous Postseason Team

For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are National League West champions.

Led by another strong performance from probable NL Cy Young Award winner and legitimate MVP candidate Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers trounced the San Francisco Giants 9-1 in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium to secure home-field advantage in the NLDS.

Though it wasn’t his sharpest outing, Kershaw allowed just one run on eight hits over eight innings in his final start of the regular season, striking out 11 batters without issuing a walk. The win was the left-hander’s 21st of the season, matching his career high from 2011, and he reached the mark in just his 27th start.

Kershaw also helped his cause by going 1-for-2 with an RBI triple, and he made a potentially game-saving play with no outs in the third inning when he fielded a hard-hit, comeback ground ball behind his back to prevent at least one run from scoring.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy praised Kershaw before the game, even suggesting that the 26-year-old should win both the Cy Young Award and MVP.

"This guy is the best in the game," Bochy said, via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Look at the numbers. I don’t know who is more deserving of the MVP. Forget Cy Young. Look at what he’s done for his club, the year he’s had. Those are stupid numbers he’s got."

With his final regular-season start now complete, Kershaw will finish the year with an MLB-best 21 wins—after winning his last seven starts—and 1.77 ERA as well as an NL-leading 239 strikeouts.

Kershaw’s ERA title will be his fourth in as many years—a new MLB record, per MLB.com.

According to ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter, Kershaw is just the second pitcher in MLB history to win 21 starts in 27 or fewer games. The only other player to accomplish the feat was Fred Goldsmith back in 1880. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Beyond Kershaw’s perpetually growing list of achievements and accolades, the Dodgers tend to play their best with their ace on the hill, evidenced by the team’s 23-4 record in his starts. And with Kershaw set to make either two or three starts in a five- or seven-game series, the Dodgers’ season-long trend of playing well behind him could lead to a deep run into the postseason.

Though Kershaw can be credited for driving the Dodgers success this season, their first-place finish in the NL West would not have been possible without the team’s impressive offense.

Per Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times:

"

Offensively, the Dodgers have not been the monster fans had anticipated, but they are still one of baseball’s best-hitting teams. They are third in the majors in hitting (.264), tied for first in on-base percentage (.331) and sixth in slugging (.403).

They seldom had their lineup fully healthy, though it appears to be now.

"

The Dodgers offense had its ups and downs this season; however, it’s really come together over the last month in time for the postseason push.

The Dodgers are first in the National League since Sept. 1 in on-base percentage (.353), runs (133), home runs (31) and RBI (130). They rank second in batting average (.291), slugging (.469) and OPS (.822).

They have seven position players batting over .300 in the current month: Matt Kemp (.306), Hanley Ramirez (.357), Juan Uribe (.378), Justin Turner (.385), Darwin Barney (.400), Scott Van Slyke (.429) and Carl Crawford (.433). That doesn’t even include Yasiel Puig (.288) and Dee Gordon (.286).

Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ 31 home runs in September has been a revelation, as it’s their highest monthly total this season and comes after they hit just 42 over the previous three months.

Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez have led the power surge with eight and six home runs, respectively, while Puig, Crawford, Turner and Uribe have each chipped in three apiece.

After Wednesday’s win, the Dodgers will have an opportunity to rest and recuperate with an off-day Thursday—it probably couldn’t come at a better time after what was surely a long night of celebrating—before concluding the regular season with a three-game home series against Colorado.

The NLDS will begin Friday, Oct. 3, at Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers (91-68) likely to host the winner of the NL Central or Wild Card, depending on whether they finish above Washington (92-64) in the overall standings.

Right now, however, it’s difficult to envision any team taking down the red-hot Dodgers in a five-game series.