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Clayton Kershaw, Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman push Dodgers to 111th win of season
The Dodgers closed the regular season with a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies before a crowd of 37,514 in Chavez Ravine on Wednesday to finish with a franchise-record 111 wins, the second-most in National League history and tied for the fourth-most in major league history.
Only the 2001 Seattle Mariners and 1906 Chicago Cubs, who won 116 games, and the 1998 New York Yankees (114) won more games than the Dodgers. The Cleveland Indians won 111 games in 1954. The Dodgers are the first team in baseball history with three straight full seasons of 106 or more wins.
Clayton Kershaw gave up one run and one hit—an Ezequiel Tovar solo homer in the second inning—in five innings, striking out nine and walking one to earn the victory, closing the season with a 12-3 record and 2.28 ERA in 22 starts.
Relievers Yency Almonte, Chris Martin, Craig Kimbrel and Caleb Ferguson combined for four scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
Shortstop Trea Turner, who hadn’t homered since Sept. 11 and driven in a run since Sept. 16, snapped a 1-1 tie with a three-run homer to right-center field off reliever Chad Smith in the fifth inning.
Freddie Freeman, who needed to go four for four to overtake New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil for the National League batting title, doubled to right-center in the first inning and homered to left-center in the third, snapping an 0-for-13 skid.
But Freeman flied to the warning track in the fifth before hitting an RBI single in the seventh and finished the season with a .325 average, 21 homers, 47 doubles, 117 runs, 100 RBIs and a NL-leading 199 hits, fulfilling his goal of batting .300 with 100 runs and 100 RBIs.
McNeil, who did not play in the Mets’ season finale, hit .326.
Freeman and Trea Turner also became the first pair of Dodgers teammates to drive in 100 runs in a season since Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp in 2009. Freeman and Trea Turner (194 hits) are the sixth pair of teammates to finish first and second in the major leagues in hits in the same season.
Cody Bellinger added a solo homer to right field in the seventh, giving the Dodgers center fielder nine hits, including two homers, and eight RBIs in his final 19 at-bats of the season.
The Dodgers finished the season with a total home attendance of 3,861,092, the second-highest in Los Angeles history behind 2019.
Cody Bellinger homers as Dodgers extend lead
The Dodgers extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh when Cody Bellinger led off with a home run. Joey Gallo struck out swinging and Miguel Vargas walked. Trea Turner singled to left, Vargas to second. Freddie Freeman singled to right, scoring Vargas. Will Smith popped to second. Austin Barnes, batting for Muncy, struck out looking.
Score after seven: Dodgers 6, Rockies 1
Trea Turner’s three-run homer in fifth inning puts Clayton Kershaw in line for win
Trea Turner snapped a lengthy power drought with a three-run home run to right-center field to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead over the Colorado Rockies in Wednesday’s regular-season finale in Chavez Ravine.
Turner hadn’t hit a home run since Sept. 11 or driven in a run since Sept. 16, and he struck out in his first two at-bats Wednesday when he stepped to the plate with two on and one out in the fifth.
The shortstop drove a 95-mph sinker from reliever Chad Smith 407 feet over the wall to score Joey Gallo and Mookie Betts, who had walked.
The homer also put Clayton Kershaw in line for the win after the veteran left-hander gave up one run and one hit—Ezequiel Tovar’s solo homer to left field in the second—in five innings, striking out nine and walking one.
The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner has a 1.54 ERA in seven starts since returning from his latest back injury on Sept. 1, giving up 27 hits, striking out 49 and walking eight in 41 innings.
Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman, who needed to go four for four to pass New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil for his first batting title, doubled in the first inning and hit a solo homer to left-center in the third before flying out to the warning track in center in the fifth, his average at .324.
McNeil, who was not in the Mets lineup on Wednesday, is batting .326.
Chris Taylor, Dustin May, Blake Treinen expected to be on division series roster
Dustin May, sidelined by a lower-back strain for two weeks, threw a two-inning simulated game of about 30 pitches before Wednesday’s regular-season finale, a workout that appeared to solidify the hard-throwing right-hander’s spot on the team’s National League division series roster.
“I thought the ball was coming out really good, so it was a very encouraging day,” manager Dave Roberts said of May, who is scheduled to throw again on Sunday. “I think we can feel confident that he’s at three innings.”
May, who returned from Tommy John surgery on Aug. 20, has been erratic in six starts this season, going 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA, striking out 29 and walking 14 in 30 innings.
With Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin lined up to start in the five-game division series against the New York Mets or San Diego Padres, May is expected to reprise his 2020 post-season role, when he pitched in relief and was used as an opener with sporadic results.
“I’ve done a lot of different things in the past,” May said, “so I’m up for whatever is going to help the team whatever way possible.”
Reliever Blake Treinen, who has missed most of the season because of a shoulder injury, faced three batters in a simulated inning Wednesday. He will repeat the workout again Saturday and, barring setback, is expected to be on the division series roster, though it’s doubtful he will be able to pitch on back-to-back days.
“I thought the slider was good, and from my eyes, I thought the velocity was good,” Roberts said. “I think with Blake, if he feels good enough to be on the roster, and that’s the way we go, then I think a clean inning makes sense.”
Outfielder Chris Taylor missed his fifth straight game because of neck stiffness but was able to begin swinging in a cage on Wednesday.
“Today feels better than yesterday, and we’re hoping that tomorrow he feels better than today,” Roberts said. “So as we sit here right now, I’m expecting him to be on the post-season roster.”
ROCKIES LINEUP: RF Randal Grichuk, LF Sean Bouchard, 3B Ryan McMahon, 2B Brendan Rodgers, DH Elehuris Montero, 1B Michael Toglia, SS Ezequiel Tovar, CG Garrett Hampson, C Brian Serven, LHP Austin Gomber.
DODGERS LINEUP: RF Mookie Betts, SS Trea Turner, 1B Freddie Freeman, C Will Smith, DH Max Muncy, 3B Justin Turner, 2B Gavin Lux, CF Cody Bellinger, LF Joey Gallo, LHP Clayton Kershaw.
Talk through it: Dodgers stars share the secrets of their success at the plate
The most important 15 minutes of the day happen hours before first pitch.
That’s when, home or road, day or night, opposing ace or patchwork bullpen game awaiting them on the mound, every member of the Dodgers lineup will gather in the batting cages near their clubhouse.
They’ll sit in a group, study-session style.
And they’ll start to talk — about that game’s pitcher, about their plan of attack and about how to raise the bar for baseball’s best offense a little higher.
Hitters’ meetings like this are standard around baseball, a daily staple of life in the majors.
What’s different with the Dodgers is the way they go about it.
Every day, it’s the players who talk first — and, often, the most.
ICYMI: Julio Urías clinches National League ERA title in Dodgers’ loss to Rockies
Game 161 of 162 took place at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night and Julio Urías clinched the National League ERA title by giving up two runs in five innings to finish at 2.16 in the Dodgers’ 5-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
All that’s left of the Dodgers’ historic regular season is the finale Wednesday afternoon, and the only sliver of intrigue is whether Freddie Freeman can overtake the New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil for the NL batting title. It’s not likely with McNeil at .326 and Freeman at .322 after going 0 for 4.
Otherwise, even though the Dodgers have lost three in a row to the Rockies, attention has shifted to the National League Division Series, which will begin next Tuesday after five days off.