The NL West continues to run through Los Angeles, as the Dodgers clinched their 13th division title over the last 14 seasons with an 8-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
The Dodgers secured their 93rd win— matching their regular season total from last year— thanks in large part to a huge game from Kyle Tucker. Tucker launched his second home run of the four-game set in Cincinnati and collected four hits in five at-bats, finishing just a triple shy of the cycle. For what has undoubtedly been a disappointing first year with his new team, Tucker gave fans a prelude for what they can potentially see from him in October.
Tucker spoke with David Vassegh of SportsNet LA while celebrating their division-clinching win about settling for a double in his final at-bat, noting he wouldn’t have made it safely to third base in his cycle pursuit.
“I tried my best. I don’t think I was going to get there. I probably would’ve been thrown out halfway, but it’s all good.”
Tucker also spoke about the challenges and hurdles he faced repeatedly this season, expressing gratitude for his teammates continuing to stick with him throughout the highs and lows.
“This group is awesome. Everyone supports each other through the ups and downs. We all know where we want to be at the end of the year, and we all just try to help each other out to get there. This is a great group to play with, to play behind, so everyone is super supportive. Everyone knows what we gotta get done.”
With only nine games left for the Dodgers in the regular season, team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman gave an optimistic update on Shohei Ohtani, noting that they expect him to return from the injured list before their season finale, per Jack Harris of the California Post.
“He’s doing well,” Friedman said, as the team celebrated another National League West title around him at Great American Ball Park. “He’s progressing well.”
“I expect him back in the regular season,” Friedman declared.
Two months ago, Tarik Skubal was still the ace of a Detroit Tigers team on a downward trajectory. On Thursday, Skubal was celebrating the opportunity to pitch in the postseason for a third consecutive season, this time for the reigning two-time World Series champions.
Skubal hopes that the celebrations from Thursday were the first of many more to come as the march for the three-peat is officially in motion, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.
“First of many,” he said. “… This is checking a box, and once we get to postseason baseball and doing all that stuff, I think it’s going to be a ton of fun.”
Skubal also reflected on the resiliency of this year’s Dodgers, noting their ability to bounce back after a rough month of August with a current record of 11-5 in the month of September, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“I think there was no panic from this group,” Skubal said. “I think that’s why in big moments, pressure doesn’t really get to these guys.”
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