Kyle Tucker homered in the first inning Thursday and finished a triple short of the cycle as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Cincinnati 8-2 to clinch their fifth straight NL West title.
It is the franchise’s 13th division title in 14 seasons and its 14th consecutive postseason berth, tying the record Atlanta set from 1991 through 2005.
“It’s a big deal,” Dave Roberts said. “I think that a lot of people think that it’s just a rite of passage (but) it’s not easy.”
The celebration on the field was short. In the clubhouse, sparkling wine and beer went from floor to ceiling.
Mookie Betts wiped bubbly out of his eyes and called it the first step.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Betts said.
Tucker went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. His two-run homer off Brady Singer opened the scoring, and no Dodger has hit for the cycle since 2017.
Freddie Freeman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Max Muncy doubled home two in the fourth, and rookie Josue De Paula followed with an RBI single. Miguel Rojas homered in the ninth.
Justin Wrobleski opened the bullpen game with three perfect innings and three strikeouts. Landon Knack, recalled Thursday, worked four scoreless innings for his first win since May 2025.
The Dodgers are 93-60 and lead San Diego by 9 1/2 games. They trail Milwaukee (95-58) by two for the National League’s top seed and hold a four-game edge on Atlanta (89-64) for the second.
Both of those seeds carry a bye into the division series.
Los Angeles had already clinched at least a wild card on Monday. Cincinnati delayed the division clinch Wednesday with a 6-2 win.
This is the Dodgers’ fourth-earliest division clinch, after Sept. 10 in 2019, Sept. 13 in 2022 and Sept. 16 in 2023.
Nine games remain. Roberts said the team celebrates without letting it carry over, and that the flight to San Francisco left regardless.
No team has won three straight World Series since the Yankees did it from 1998 through 2000. Los Angeles has won the last two.
The Dodgers started 61-36 and are 32-24 since the All-Star break.
Tyler Glasnow (4-1, 3.50 ERA) starts Friday against the Giants.
