LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their eighth straight National League West title with a 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday and it was unlike any of the first seven.
There was no dogpile on the field or champagne-soaked celebration, just subdued high-fives and hugs as they put on T-shirts commemorating the accomplishment, piped-in crowd noise roared, and “I Love L.A.” serenaded the cutouts in attendance at Dodger Stadium.
They reached the goal in their 55th game with five games to spare in this sprint season with help from the Los Angeles Angels, who beat the San Diego Padres about an hour earlier. The results also gave them the No. 1 seed for the expanded 16-team postseason. They’ll play Game 1 of the wild-card round next Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. The opponent is a club to be determined.
The Dodgers crushed four home runs and got five solid innings from Dustin May on Tuesday to beat the best team they’ve played this season not named the Padres. May allowed two runs on three hits across five innings. He issued a career-high three walks and struck out five. The 23-year-old right-hander is an important piece to their World Series puzzle with potential to dominate.
May throws 99 mph. He went viral last month for making San Diego Padres star Manny Machado, an NL MVP contender, look foolish swinging at an eye-popping two-seam fastball. His numbers, however, doesn’t exactly match the profile. Pitchers with a repertoire that explosive usually strike out hitters at a high percentage. May doesn’t.
He entered Wednesday with an 18% strikeout rate, which ranked 81st out of 97 pitchers that have logged at least 40 innings this season. May instead relies on inducing groundballs; he began Tuesday with the seventh-highest groundball rate in the majors. Groundballs are the batted balls most likely to become outs. The Dodgers, in turn, have been the best in the league at converting balls put in play into outs.
But strikeouts are the optimal result for a pitcher because they remove variables — defense and luck among them — from the equation. And in October, when a bloop single or an error can change the course of a series, strikeouts are gold. The Dodgers believe May, who will play a significant role in the postseason, could improve the output by optimizing his pitch selections with two strikes against right-handed hitters.
“Obviously, the best thing would be to punch guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But as long as he can continue to attack the strike zone, he has a good chance to get some outs.”
On the other side, avoiding strikeouts is a key ingredient for October success. It was a problem that plagued the Dodgers when they stuck out 64 times in their five-game NLDS loss to the Washington Nationals last season.
Having Justin Turner healthy and available is crucial in that effort. Turner owns the second-lowest strikeout percentage on the team. He is elite at putting the ball in play. But he isn’t 100% a week before the start of the playoffs.
The Dodgers’ original lineup Tuesday had Turner starting at third base for the first time since he strained his left hamstring Aug. 28. He returned last week but his first five games were as the club’s designated hitter. Roberts said Turner would play five or six innings at third base Tuesday as he eased back into the more intensive role. The start was supposed to be a step forward.
But Turner was scratched from the lineup two hours before first pitch. The Dodgers said he had “left hamstring discomfort.” Edwin Rios started in his place.
The Dodgers didn’t need him Tuesday. Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, AJ Pollock, and Corey Seager each slugged a home run to fuel the club to another victory. This one sealed the No. 1 seed and another division title. The question is whether that will be the only title they win for the eighth straight year.
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