The Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to October for the 14th consecutive season, matching the longest postseason streak in major league history, on the strength of seven scoreless innings from Tarik Skubal and home runs from Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández in a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds Monday night at Great American Ball Park.
Skubal struck out nine and scattered three hits and a walk, working around traffic to keep the Reds off the board before Evan Phillips allowed a ninth-inning solo homer to Elly De La Cruz that briefly threatened the shutout. Tucker opened the scoring with a solo shot off left-hander Nick Lodolo in the second inning, and Hernández followed with a two-run drive off Lodolo in the fourth. It was enough support for Los Angeles despite managing only three hits of its own, a reminder that even a lineup missing key bats can lean on pitching when it matters.
A Deadline Deal Pays Off
Skubal, acquired from Detroit ahead of the trade deadline, delivered one of his sharpest starts since the move, extending a run of dominance that has made the Dodgers' rotation the envy of the league down the stretch. Tucker, the club's marquee free-agent signing over the winter, has now homered three times in his last five games after a season that has otherwise fallen short of his usual standards.
The clinch ties the record for consecutive playoff appearances set by the Atlanta Braves from 1991 through 2005. The Braves reached five World Series in that span but won only once, in 1995. Los Angeles, seeking an unprecedented third straight title and the first three-peat by any team since the New York Yankees won three consecutive World Series from 1998 through 2000, has already collected three championships and five pennant-round trips of its own during its current run.
Los Angeles also all but locked up a fifth straight National League West title, holding a nine-game lead over the second-place San Diego Padres along with the season series tiebreaker. The Dodgers additionally carry a three-and-a-half-game edge over Atlanta for the league's second seed and a first-round bye.
No Time to Get Comfortable
The mood inside the clubhouse afterward was measured rather than raucous, consistent with a team that has come to treat October as a baseline expectation rather than a bonus.
It's hard to say it ever feels routine, but it is the expectation here. I always laugh whenever we clinch a postseason spot; we just do a nice little toast.
Max Muncy, Dodgers third baseman
Skubal, who made the playoffs each of the past two seasons with Detroit, said the muted reaction stood out compared with his prior clinching experiences.
I think it just speaks to the people in this room and what they expect out of this team. That was cool. A little toast and move on. Forget it happened. We've got more to accomplish this season.
Tarik Skubal, Dodgers starting pitcher
Manager Dave Roberts struck a similar note, telling players the club has yet to play its best baseball even while compiling one of the sport's most durable stretches of success. Los Angeles has done it again despite injuries to Shohei Ohtani, sidelined by left knee and right biceps issues, and outfielder Andy Pages, who is out with a fractured left hand. Teoscar Hernández, for his part, framed the moment as motivation rather than a finish line, saying simply that returning to the playoffs is what every player dreams of and that the focus now shifts to what the team wants to accomplish later in the season.
With roughly a month and a half of regular-season baseball remaining, the Dodgers can wrap up the division outright within days. Attention will then turn to rotation and lineup health, including the timelines for Ohtani and Pages, as Los Angeles tries to arrive in October with its full roster intact for a third consecutive championship push.
