Following an emotional start for Clayton Kershaw, back-to-back jacks from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts propelled the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the Giants on Friday night. It was a 1-2 punch that punched Los Angeles’ ticket to the postseason.
As it turned out, the Dodgers didn’t need a victory to make their return to playoff baseball official. They needed either a win or a D-backs loss to the Phillies to clinch a berth, and Arizona fell before final out at Dodger Stadium.
While no trip to the postseason can be taken for granted, getting there is an expectation for the Dodgers. Their sights are set on winning the NL West for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, and they inched toward that goal by extending their lead over the Padres to four games.
Kershaw, making his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium with retirement on the horizon, exited with one out in the fifth to an extended ovation with his team trailing 2-1. In the next half-inning, the Dodgers stormed ahead.
With two outs and two on, Ohtani drove a fastball from Giants starter Robbie Ray into the left-field corner. The go-ahead three-run shot was his 52nd homer of the season, hit on the one-year anniversary of his monster game that created the 50-50 club.
The big blast from Ohtani brought the energy up, but Dodger Stadium was really rocking after Betts went back to back, mashing his 20th homer of the year to left-center.