Dodgers clinch NL West with 8-0 win, head to postseason

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West on Thursday afternoon with an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, sealing their 12th division title in 13 seasons and their fourth straight. Freddie Freeman hit two homers and Shohei Ohtani launched his 54th of the year, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed four hits and struck out seven over six scoreless innings to pace a decisive win that also gave the Dodgers their 90th victory of the regular season.

Los Angeles jumped on Arizona early. Freeman homered in the first and again in the fourth, and Ohtani’s fourth-inning blast cleared the outfield pool, tying his career high and matching the Dodgers single-season mark he set last year. Yamamoto, who finished the regular season with 201 strikeouts over 173 2/3 innings, cruised through six innings and helped steady a club that has endured a turbulent stretch this year.

Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged both the accomplishment and the difficulty of the run. "We have an opportunity to make history," Roberts said, adding that the season’s ups and downs have underscored how hard repeating will be. "It’s hard to do that in practice in baseball, but I do think...