LOS ANGELES _ The final home game of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2018 regular season began Sunday afternoon with Orel Hershiser, the ace of the last Dodgers club to win a championship, throwing out the first pitch on his bobblehead day. It was a reminder of the opportunity these Dodgers, a deep and talented iteration with World Series aspirations, have in front of them again, 30 years after Hershiser's right arm helped capture a title.
But to have a shot to reclaim the National League pennant, the Dodgers must seize a playoff spot first. It's a chase they expected to have completed before Sunday, but recent losses against inferior clubs have muddied their path to a sixth straight division title, rendering the season's final week relevant. The Dodgers handled their business on Sunday, however, against the last-place San Diego Padres in a 14-0 rout to complete a series victory at Dodger Stadium after dropping Friday's opener.
The Dodgers (87-69) will head on a six-game trip _ beginning in Arizona on Monday _ to conclude the regular season. They lead the Colorado Rockies by 1 { games for first place in the National League West. Their magic number to clinch the division stands at six.
Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed six scoreless innings for Los Angeles. He held San Diego (62-94) to four hits, accumulated eight strikeouts, and didn't issue a walk. He encountered his most perilous spot in the sixth inning, when Wil Myers clocked a leadoff double. But Ryu retired the next three batters in a row to wiggle free with a 10-run lead intact _ a lead he helped build with three hits and two runs scored. It was the first time a Dodgers pitcher recorded three hits in a game since Zack Greinke in August 2015. Ryu's batting average soared to .292.
Manny Machado was batting fourth for the second straight day after hitting either second or third in his first 56 starts as a Dodger. Manager Dave Roberts explained he wanted to split Machado and Justin Turner with someone he could replace with a pinch-hitter to counter a reliever late in games, which would either force the opposing club to use an extra reliever or gamble with an unfavorable matchup.
Machado cracked a first-pitch three-run home run in his first start in the clean-up spot on Saturday. It was, Roberts later said, "a signature moment," one Machado has perhaps sought since the Dodgers acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles for the stretch run. He followed it on Sunday with a solo blast on the first pitch he saw from left-hander Joey Lucchesi in the second inning. The homer was his 13th as a Dodger and 37th overall, tying a career high. Two batters later, Matt Kemp, celebrating his 34th birthday, smacked his own solo shot deep into the seats beyond the left-field wall for his 21st home run and 1,000th career RBI.
Kemp led off the fourth inning with a double. Austin Barnes then walloped a two-run home run. Ryu followed with his second single in as many at-bats, a hard-hit groundball up the middle Lucchesi couldn't impede, before Chris Taylor walked to put Lucchesi in a bind. He didn't escape. David Freese knocked a single to score a scampering Ryu from second base and chase Lucchesi from the game after logging 3 2/3 innings.
Machado then welcomed Trey Wingenter with an RBI single through the right side to give the Dodgers a 6-0 lead for the second consecutive day. The margin swelled to eight when Kemp lined a two-run single, leaving him a triple short of the cycle. The lead was ample for Ryu, whose performance continued a stellar season interrupted by a three-month stint on the disabled list with a torn groin muscle. Ryu has pitched to a 1.93 ERA in eight starts since coming off the disabled list, lowering his season mark to 2.00 in 14 outings. He's failed to log at least five innings once since his return. He is pitching his way into the Dodgers' postseason rotation, emerging as a potentially vital cog in the club's pursuit of its first championship in three decades.
The Dodgers need a playoff spot to extend that pursuit beyond next Sunday. Feasting on last-place clubs makes the path easier. But the 2018 Dodgers haven't made it easy.
On Sunday, they made it look that way.
