PHOENIX (AP) — As the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their 12th NL West title in 13 years, Clayton Kershaw thought about participating in a division championship for the final time.
“This is what I’m going to miss,” the left-hander said after . “Pitching is great and I love that, too, but getting to do this with a group of guys, all working for a collective goal, the camaraderie, that’s really special.
“You don’t get that anywhere else. There’s no jobs where 37-year-olds get to do that. But I’m good, I had a great run.”
An 11-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner, Kershaw said last week at the end of the postseason. He won the first of 14 division titles as a rookie in 2008.
“It was a lot of fun then and it’s a lot of fun now,” Kershaw said of the celebration.
While the Dodgers celebrated their 2013 division title by jumping into the Chase Field pool behind the right-field wall, they avoided the water this time — except when Shohei Ohtani for his 54th home run.
“Winning the division title, you can never take it for granted,” said Freddie Freeman, who homered twice Thursday. “We feel like we’re really starting to click.”
Los Angeles, which reached 90 wins for its 12th straight full season, will play in a wild card series for the first time since the best-of-three round was added in 2022.
“You only play this game for so long, so you only get so many opportunities to do this,” Mookie Betts said. “I feel great. I really didn’t do anything the first half of the season, so I got plenty of rest and I’m just happy to help.”
Dave Roberts has reached the playoffs in all 10 years as Dodgers manager, nine times as a division winner. LA won the World Series last season, beating the Yankees in five games.
“This was expected. We got it done, maybe a little bit later than we hoped. But I’m happy with the way we’re playing,” Roberts said. “I do think we’re better for all the adversity and we’re playing our best baseball right now, What we’ve done before, nothing matters. It’s more about trusting each other and playing for a championship.”
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