Dodgers Clinch NL West For 9th Time in 10 Years, Clayton Kershaw Shows Off Dad Bod

The Dodgers are back on top of the National League West.

After taking a year off in 2021 when the San Francisco Giants won the division by a single game, the Dodgers clinched their ninth division title in ten years on Tuesday night with a 4-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Giants meanwhile, now sit 30 games back.

Fittingly, the game was started by Dodgers legend and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who pitched seven dominant innings, allowing just two hits and one walk.

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after retiring the side in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves during Game Two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Clinching on September 13th marks one of the earliest dates in the wild card era for a team to lock up its division.

Only seven teams have clinched before September 13th during that time frame, including the 2019 Dodgers. It's even more impressive considering the season started later than usual. Clinching in only 141 games is nearly unprecedented and is the earliest in franchise history.

While they obviously have bigger postseason aspirations, another win makes the team an astonishing 98-43, putting them on pace to win 113 games and keeping alive the possibility of a historic 116 or 117 win season:

Kershaw celebrated in the clubhouse by being the first player to take his shirt off, showing a classic Dad bod:

Regular season success only takes you so far, but the Dodgers have taken the first step in the road to a second World Series in three years.