LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers, 10 games below .500 early in what became a bizarre 2018 season, are division champions for the sixth consecutive time, a distinction they secured by beating the Colorado Rockies 5-2 in Monday’s tiebreaker.
The Dodgers (92-71) now advance to the National League Division Series, where they will have home-field advantage against the Atlanta Braves beginning Thursday. The Rockies (91-72) will travel to Wrigley Field to face the Chicago Cubs and lefty Jon Lester in Tuesday’s NL wild-card game.
Walker Buehler, the precocious rookie right-hander who has quickly become the Dodgers’ co-ace, delivered 6⅔ scoreless innings in the NL West clincher, allowing only four baserunners and even delivering an RBI single. He exited to a raucous standing ovation from 47,816 at Dodger Stadium.
Prior to that, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy each delivered two-run homers against Rockies starter German Marquez, who was named NL Pitcher of the Month moments before Game 163. Kenley Jansen surrendered back-to-back home runs to Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story to begin the ninth, but retired the next three batters, sparking a subdued on-field celebration.
The Dodgers began the year 16-24, their worst 40-game start in 60 years. But they roared back, bolstered by a strong rotation and a deep, power-hitting lineup. They swept the Rockies from Sept. 17-19, moving 2½ games up in the NL West. But the Rockies won nine of their next 10 games, forcing the Dodgers to sweep the San Francisco Giants over the weekend to set up this scenario.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts declared all year that his team would claim the division when it was all said and done, even when it appeared as if their season was spiraling. The Dodgers ultimately became only the sixth team in history to win a division despite being 10 or more games below .500 in the same season, and the first since the 2013 Dodgers, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.