Dodgers clinch NL West, but Freddie Freeman exits with injury

LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman wore a walking boot and a smile. The moment that all but solidified another National League West title and first-round bye for the Los Angeles Dodgers -- a seventh-inning two-run single from Mookie Betts, further extending Thursday's lead -- was followed by Freeman rolling his right ankle, a frightening development for a key player at the most important time of year.

But X-rays revealed no structural damage. Freeman is expected to be just fine for the playoffs.

To clinch this way, he felt, was fitting.

"We've worked really hard to overcome a lot of adversity -- and it never ends, it seems like, this year," Freeman said after a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres. "I'll do everything I possibly can to be ready."

The Dodgers watched a dangerous, star-laden Padres team take Tuesday's series opener with a game-ending triple play, then boisterously celebrate a postseason berth inside Dodger Stadium's visiting clubhouse. But they came back to win the next two, riding an effective Walker Buehler and key hits from Betts and Shohei Ohtani in the finale.

When Michael Kopech, their standout new closer, got Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka to hit into an infield popup with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Dodgers collected their 95th win this season and their 11th NL West title in 12 years.

"They all feel sweet, but I'll tell you, man, with what we've gone through this year, this feels a tick sweeter," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I'm just so proud of these guys, the way that we've fought the adversity, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard-fought. We earned it. Today sort of epitomized our season -- just kind of battling from behind, fighting, scratching, clawing and willing ourselves to victory."

The Dodgers placed a proverbial target on their backs with a historic offseason splurge that saw them sign Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez and, with a high-profile trade that was followed by an extension, Tyler Glasnow. By the All-Star break, though, they had a major league-leading 15 players on their injured list. Immediately thereafter, the division-rival Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks surged near the top of the division.

But the Dodgers did not waver.

Yamamoto, Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol all missed extended time. But the Dodgers never trailed in the NL West. They went just 11-13 in July, but they came back to go 19-8 in August. Every time it seemed as if they might be vulnerable, they responded. Every time it seemed as if they might wilt under the weight of expectations, they met them.

"We like high expectations," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "We relish them. It beats the s--- out of the alternative. People care, they're passionate about the Dodgers. They have high expectations. So do we. We think that's a great thing. And for us, this is step one. This is what we talked about in spring training. The first step was to win the division and put ourselves in position to get the bye. We've done that. And now the ultimate goal is in line. We need to do all we can to put ourselves in position to win 11 games."

The Dodgers secured a bye the past two years, only to get eliminated by a division rival -- the Padres in 2022, the D-backs in 2023 -- in the division series. They'll approach this October with starting pitching concerns similar to the ones they faced last October. Glasnow and Gavin Stone have been ruled out; Kershaw seemingly won't be an option for the initial round. It'll be up to Jack Flaherty, acquired before the trade deadline, and Yamamoto, who missed three months with a shoulder injury, to anchor the staff.

But if Buehler can pitch the way he did Thursday -- allowing just one run on five hits in an efficient five innings, despite striking out only one batter -- the Dodgers could begin the playoffs with a formidable three-man staff.

Said Dodgers catcher Will Smith: "We needed him to step up, and he did."

The Dodgers were scoreless against Joe Musgrove until Smith tied the score with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Four batters later, Ohtani snuck a grounder through the right side to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. It was his 10th hit in his past 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, raising his slash line in that situation to .545/.615/1.273 in September.

Ohtani is 20-for-29 with five home runs, 15 RBIs, seven stolen bases and three walks over his past seven games, a stretch that began with a historic performance to reach the 50/50 milestone. But as he approaches his first postseason, it's his drastic improvements in RBI situations that has stuck out to club officials.

"It was an awesome feeling," Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said of taking part in his first clinch celebration. "I'm hoping to be able to continue popping champagne."

Freeman was leaning on crutches when the Dodgers began to spray champagne in their clubhouse. He rolled his ankle while trying to evade a tag from Padres first baseman Luis Arraez, then limped directly into the clubhouse for X-rays that came back negative.

Freeman's ankle swelled "like a grapefruit," he said, but he's "optimistic" that he'll be available by the time the division series begins in nine days. Freeman will stay in Los Angeles to receive treatment while the rest of his teammates travel to Colorado to finish their regular season this weekend.

"Once they get the fluid out," Freeman said, "I should be able to go."

Added Roberts: "I'm just grateful that he's going to have a week off."