NL West

The Colorado Rockies and starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela reportedly reached an agreement Tuesday on a five-year, $50.5 million contract extension through the 2026 MLB season.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported details of the deal, which includes a $14 million club option for 2027.

Senzatela posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 28 starts for the Rockies in 2021.

The 26-year-old Venezuela native relies predominantly on a fastball, which he throws 56.1 percent of the time with an average velocity of 94.7 mph, per FanGraphs. While it doesn't register as a sinker, it's a pitch he usually tries to keep down in the zone to mitigate the impact of hitter-friendly Coors Field.

He also throws a slider, which is his out pitch, along with a changeup and cutter.

Senzatela is an old-school pitcher from the perspective he pitches to contact rather than trying to post high strikeout numbers. His 6.03 K/9 ratio would have been the second-lowest total in MLB in 2021 if he had enough innings to qualify, according to FanGraphs.

The right-hander has spent his entire career with the Rockies since getting called up in 2017. He's posted a lower ERA at home (4.65) than on the road (5.06) despite pitching at Coors.

In August, Senzatela agreed with Colorado manager Bud Black that further developing his changeup would help keep hitters more off balance.

"I think it's the next part of my game," he told reporters, adding he wasn't yet comfortable to rely heavily on the pitch in game situations.

The Rockies are clearly betting on his continued development with the lucrative extension.

Colorado, which missed the playoffs with a 74-87 record, also re-signed first baseman C.J. Cron on Tuesday as they start their 2022 roster-building process, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network.

Trying to find a true ace to lead a rotation that features solid depth with Senzatela, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber would be a major step in the right direction.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won 106 games during the 2021 regular season. That's tied for the most wins in the franchise's 138-year history, and one of only 23 seasons of its kind throughout all of Major League Baseball history.

Their reward? A single playoff game.

Though the Dodgers would have handily won any of MLB's other five divisions, they just could never catch up to the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. They had a historic season in their own right, winning a club-record 107 games to snap the Dodgers' eight-year reign atop the division.

Of course, the Dodgers may yet play in more postseason games. They'll only need to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) in the NL Wild Card Game at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday to earn a grudge match against the Giants in the National League Division Series. In spite of St. Louis' recent 17-game win streak, this should be doable.

In the event that the Dodgers lose to the Cardinals, not everyone will weep for them. The story will rightfully be that the reigning World Series champions had their shot and missed it.

For the moment, though, it is justifiable to call out the Dodgers' do-or-die fate for what it is: an injustice that underscores the need for MLB to reconsider its playoff format.

---

The Dodgers Did Nothing Wrong

As much as it feels like the Dodgers just weren't as good as the Giants, a more accurate way to put it is that they simply didn't win as many games as their longtime rivals in the Bay Area.

Though the Giants did their part to keep the Dodgers in their rear-view mirror by winning the season series 10 games to 9, the Dodgers actually outscored them by two runs.

So it went for the season as a whole, as Los Angeles' plus-269 run differential easily trumped San Francisco's plus-210 mark. Simply based on that, the Dodgers probably should have won six more games than the Giants.

The idea in pointing all this out isn't to diminish the Giants in any way. They had a truly amazing year from start to finish, never losing more than 10 games in any individual month. But if any Dodgers want to argue that their second-place finish wasn't caused by a talent deficiency but rather a few unfavorable coin flips, they'd have a point.

Since MLB debuted the wild card in 1995, the Dodgers are far from the first team to settle for one despite having more wins than certain division winners. This is actually commonplace, happening just in the National League with the 93-win Washington Nationals in 2019, the 95-win Chicago Cubs in 2018, the 93-win Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017 and so on.

But even if the Dodgers aren't necessarily an anomaly to that particular extent, they do represent an extreme.

They're only the third 100-win team to have to settle for a wild-card spot after the 2001 Oakland Athletics and 2018 New York Yankees. Though the latter was the first team in either league to have done so since the two-team, sudden-death wild-card era began in 2012, the Dodgers are the first team to feel that particular sting in the National League.

Because the 1993 Giants and 1980 Baltimore Orioles didn't even make the playoffs despite crossing the century mark for wins, this is hardly the worst fate to ever befall a 100-game winner. One postseason game isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

The Dodgers' situation should, however, nonetheless be cause for questions regarding how MLB might improve its playoffs so something like this doesn't happen again.

---

Either Make it a Wild Card Series or Use Seeds

Since the fundamental problem here is that a team as good as the Dodgers deserves more than just one playoff game, the first question might be why MLB couldn't simply expand the Wild Card Game into a Wild Card Series.

For instance, Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks MLB should take a page from the Korean Baseball Organization:

If the top-seeded wild card finished five or more games better than the lower seeded wild card, then rather than playing just a sudden-death game (as it is now), they would play essentially a best-of-two series in the higher seed’s home stadium in which the higher seed would have to win just once while the lower seed wins twice.

However, a system like this wouldn't have done the 2021 Dodgers much good. Nor would it solve anything in years in which two excellent teams have to settle for a wild card, like when the 100-win Yankees met the 97-win Oakland Athletics in 2018 or when the 98-win Pittsburgh Pirates met the 97-win Chicago Cubs in 2015.

A simpler way forward would be to have the two wild-card teams play a best-of-three series. A guarantee of two games might barely seem like an improvement on a guarantee of one, but it would at least diminish the likelihood of either contest turning into a Franken-game.

As in, a game in which both teams seek out every possible advantage through frequent substitutions that make it seem like an actual chess match more than a baseball game. The average game goes for long enough, typically lasting between 3:05 and 3:10. Between 2012 and 2019, all but four of the Wild Card Games lasted even longer than that.

The problem here is that a Wild Card Series would require the division winners to sit for at least three days. Time off in baseball can be a competitive disadvantage if rust sets in, in which case division winners would actually be punished rather than rewarded.

So, perhaps the best thing MLB can do is still have three division winners and a one-game playoff between two wild-card teams, but simply seed teams by their records without prioritizing the division winners. You know, like they do in the National Basketball Association.

“I do like the format of the NBA,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in August, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “The two best teams, in the sample of a major league season, should have the best chance of meeting in the postseason, and not just in the first round.”

This way, teams like the Dodgers would rightfully get to skip ahead to the Division Series. To make sure division winners still get some reward, though, here's one for the "Just a Thought" file: MLB could allow them home-field advantage if they advance past the Wild Card Game. 

---

Just Please Don't Expand the Playoffs

Instead of any of the possible changes discussed above, indications are that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is thinking bigger.

Though expanding the 2020 playoff field from 10 to 16 teams seemed like an emergency one-off that wouldn't come back in 2021, Manfred didn't even wait for the new-look playoffs to run their course before he began dreaming of them as part of the new normal after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think there’s a lot to commend it," Manfred said during an online event last September, as transcribed by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. "It is one of those changes that I hope becomes a permanent part of our landscape.”

Though Manfred has seemingly backed off this idea over the past year, he apparently hasn't given up on permanently expanding the playoffs. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal (h/t Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation) during an episode of The Athletic Baseball Show in August, the possibility of a 14-team playoff field has at least been discussed.

Setting aside how a 14-team field would even work, the hard part for MLB will be getting the MLB Players Association on board with expanded playoffs. Per Rosenthal, the players fear that such a format would disincentivize competition and, in turn, spending.

Beyond that, there's a fundamental question here of how much baseball is too much baseball.

As a capper for a 60-game regular season, a 16-team playoff field was obviously a way to recoup revenue that got lost when MLB had to lop 102 games off its normal schedule. But it was also advantageous competition-wise, as those extra postseason games were necessary for the process of separating the contenders from the pretenders after such a short season.

Naturally, Exhibit A here is the Houston Astros. They were only 29-31 during the regular season in 2020, which marked a humongous downturn in the wake of three straight 100-win seasons. But the next thing anyone knew, they turned their second chance in the playoffs into a trip that lasted until Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. 

There shouldn't be any need for second chances like this after a full 162-game season, wherein teams have more than enough time to rise to the level where they belong. Hence why MLB is better off redefining the levels rather than creating more of them.

Whatever the case, here's hoping that the current playoff format is officially retired when [/fingers crossed] MLB and the MLBPA reach a new collective bargaining agreement this winter. The Dodgers and any team that might find itself in their shoes one day deserve better.

---

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without a big bat in Wednesday's National League Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that slugger Max Muncy, who left Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers with an elbow injury, is "very unlikely" to be able to play Wednesday.

Roberts said it's unlikely Muncy is ready for Wednesday, but he doesn't want to close the door on a return at some point in the postseason. “There was some testing, but it’s still sort of unclear what it means, really."

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) October 3, 2021

Muncy exited Sunday's 10-3 win in the third inning after a play at first base. Dodgers catcher Will Smith fielded a bunt by Jace Peterson and threw to first base, but Peterson ran into Muncy's arm while his left-handed glove was extended. The ball hit Peterson in the back and he was called for interference.

Muncy went down immediately in pain. He stayed down for several minutes before being helped off the field. Albert Pujols replaced him at first base.

Roberts told reporters that Muncy is still undergoing further tests and the severity of his injury is unknown.

Muncy led the Dodgers this season with 36 home runs, 94 RBI and a .364 on-base percentage. He was the fourth-leading home run hitter in the National League.

The Dodgers are an unlikely wild-card team, as 106 wins are the most for a team that failed to win a division title. The San Francisco Giants won 107 games, snapping Los Angeles' streak of eight straight NL West titles.

It wasn't all bad news for the Dodgers on Sunday. Shortstop Trea Turner secured the NL batting title with a .338 batting average. He's the first Dodger to win a batting title since Tommy Davis won back-to-back crowns in 1962 and 1963.

In Wednesday's wild card game, the Dodgers will send Max Scherzer to the mound against Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.     

The San Diego Padres reportedly had an "unusual number of heated moments" throughout the 2021 MLB season beyond the recent shouting match between stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Eno Sarris of The Athletic reported Friday the issues were a factor in the Padres' on-field collapse and raised questions about whether president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is a strong enough leader for an organization that entered the year with championship-level expectations.

"There are some deep-rooted cultural problems there," a former Padres employee told The Athletic. "It's not always inviting to people with different ideas, perspectives or backgrounds. And it's not all the fault of the people who are gone, either. It's pervasive."

A former coach added Preller may lack the necessary empathy to handle clubhouse problems: "I don't think [Preller] feels that at all."

San Diego came out of the gates strong after an offseason headlined by the additions of starting pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove to complement a star-studded offense.

The Padres owned the second-best record (34-21) at the end of May, and they were still in a playoff spot with a 61-47 mark at the end of July.

They fell apart over the final two months of the season, however, and own a seven-game losing streak that dropped them to 78-82 with two games left in the campaign.

Amid the rapid descent out of the postseason picture, Machado and Tatis were caught on video having a heated verbal exchange in the dugout during a Sept. 18 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals:

Between the bickering between two of the club's cornerstone players and a lack of high-end success after spending big in recent winters, questions are beginning to emerge about whether Preller can sort through all the problems to deliver a World Series to San Diego.

"No one works harder," a rival executive told The Athletic. "He's so smart, the best player personnel guy in the game. But he wants the flashy deal. And it hasn't worked."

Adding to the frustration is the NL West rival San Francisco Giants' ability to move past the reigning-champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the top of the division—one win or an L.A. loss in the final two games would clinch MLB's best record for the Giants—without those marquee additions.

In turn, perhaps no MLB executive will face more pressure heading into the offseason than Preller, as he faces the prospect of trying to compete in a division that features a pair of 100-win clubs this year.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw said Friday his chances of pitching in the playoffs are "not looking great" after leaving his final start of the 2021 regular season with inflammation in his elbow and forearm.

Kershaw, who was removed from the Dodgers' 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the second inning, said he'll receive further medical testing in the "next couple days," but he's concerned about the potential of missing a deep postseason run.

"Haven't quite wrapped my head around all that yet. The biggest thing was I just wanted to be part of this team going through October," he told reporters. "This team is special. You saw tonight. ... I've known that. I know that we're gonna do something special this year, and I wanted to be a part of that."

Kershaw was on the injured list from early July through mid-September because of the same injury. He pitched well upon his return, giving up just two earned runs across 9.1 innings in starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds.

He struggled in a rematch with the D-Backs last Saturday, allowing three earned runs in 4.1 innings, and allowed three runs in 1.2 innings before being removed from Friday's clash with the Brewers.

"Obviously when Clayton has to come out of a game, it doesn't bode well," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "What that means, we just don't know enough right now. But where we're at in the schedule, with what's left of the season, just not too optimistic right now."

Kershaw's potential absence for the playoffs also raises questions about his future in L.A. He's scheduled to become a free agent at season's end with the conclusion of his three-year, $93 million contract.

The 33-year-old Texas native was drafted by the Dodgers in 2006 and has spent his entire MLB career with the club since reaching the big leagues in 2008. His resume includes eight All-Star selections, three NL Cy Young Awards and the 2020 World Series title.

While his teammates get prepared for a championship defense that may not include the veteran left-hander, he wasn't prepared to take a deep dive into his offseason plans Friday night.

"My future's gonna take care of itself," Kershaw told reporters. "I'm not really worried about that right now. I really wanted to be a part of the moment right now, and I wanted to be with this group going through October. That was my only focus this year."

Los Angeles still features a terrific playoff rotation with Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin, but losing its longtime ace, who posted a 2.93 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 30.2 innings during last year's championship run, is still a setback.

For now, the Dodgers are focused on trying to win their final two games to keep their hopes alive of chasing down the San Francisco Giants for the NL West division title.

Otherwise, they'll face off with the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game.

Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been removed from Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a forearm injury. 

Per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and a team trainer visited Kershaw after the left-hander allowed a second-inning RBI double to Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong. The southpaw then exited the game, and right-handed relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol took over.

Injuries have become a problem for Kershaw in recent years. He's had at least one stint on the injured list in each of the past six seasons, including from July 7 to September 13 this season with elbow inflammation. 

In addition to Kershaw's health woes, the Dodgers have been banged up most of the year as they look to defend their World Series title. Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock, Corey Seager, Dustin May and Victor Gonzalez have all spent time on the injured list. 

The front office did address some of those issues prior to the trade deadline by acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals.

Despite having to navigate those injuries, Dave Roberts still has the Dodgers heading to the playoffs.

The Dodgers' 103-56 record ranks second in MLB, but the team with the top record happens to reside in the same division in the 105-54 San Francisco Giants.

When you think of some of the historic baseball rivalries, it's the ones on the coasts that stand out: the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. 

On the East Coast, it's the loud, intense fans with their wicked accents and their storied franchises. Out west, it's a laid-back crowd until the "Beat L.A." chant breaks out. It's Northern California vs. Southern California, Boston vs. New York and bragging rights for all of the transplants that reside in enemy territory. 

This is why this year's American League Wild Card and National League West races have been so exciting. And no disrespect to the AL, the Yankees or the Sox, but this bout between the Dodgers and the Giants might be one of the best finishes ever for a divisional crown.

The Dodgers have been one of the most elite teams baseball has ever seen for the last decade. They have won eight consecutive NL West titles, three pennants and one World Series title. However, those division titles are relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Division leaders make the playoffs and sometimes secure home-field advantage, but it means nothing if it doesn't end with the Commissioner's Trophy. 

Yet it's the Giants who have won three World Series titles since 2010. It was maddening for the residents of the Southland to watch their beloved Dodgers dominate during the regular season only to see their neighbors to the north celebrate titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Los Angeles fans were forced to watch the Giants snap their 56-year title drought while the Dodgers' own swelled to 26 years by the time San Francisco won its third World Series. 

Ultimately, the Giants' success was unsustainable. The core aged, their manager retired and they bottomed out in 2017 with 98 losses. All the while, the Dodgers remained successful and finally won that long-coveted World Series.

But now the Giants and the Dodgers are battling it out once again. They are the best teams in baseball by a pretty good margin, as both have surpassed the 100-win threshold, marking only the fifth time in divisional history (1969) one division has boasted two 100-win teams. However, one will have to play in a single-elimination playoff game against the St. Louis Cardinals, a surprise contender that just reeled off 17 wins in a row before losing to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, we're in that fun, frenetic part of the season where there are multiple scenarios in play. This race might not be decided in 162 games. If the two end up tied on Sunday night, the Giants would host a play-in game. San Francisco earned the right to play at home by winning the head-to-head series by the slimmest of margins: 10-9. The winner would advance to the NLDS, and the loser would host the NL Wild Card game.

The Giants are 2.0 games ahead in the standings, but they have to play five games (two against the Arizona Diamondbacks, three against the San Diego Padres) without Brandon Belt, who is on the injured list with a fractured thumb. The Dodgers have five games left at home—two against the Padres and three against another NL contender in the Brewers.

How each of them got to this position makes this race all the more interesting. The Dodgers were supposed to be a historic juggernaut. They had assembled one of the most frightening pitching staffs in history, adding 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer for good measure in the offseason. They had potential All-Stars at nearly every position and several MVP candidates to start the season.

But then one of those star arms—starting pitching Dustin May—needed Tommy John surgery. Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Mookie Betts all got hurt, and even when they returned, they didn't play like All-Stars. Bauer is on administrative leave and under investigation by the league and the Pasadena Police Department after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her twice, which Bauer has denied. Despite all that, though, they have managed to secure their third 100-win season in the last five years.

For the Giants, it looked like it would be an unremarkable end for the few players left from the 2014 team. But shortstop Brandon Crawford has looked like an MVP. The same could be said for Buster Posey, who returned after taking 2020 off to help his wife, Kristen, with their adopted, premature twin daughters. Even with his injury, Belt still set a new career-best with 29 home runs.

The Giants lead the National League in home runs despite the fact that only three players on the roster have reached the 20-homer mark (Belt, Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski).

Kevin Gausman has reinvented himself at age 30, while 35-year-old Jake McGee is showing that you only need one pitch to be successful.

General manager Scott Harris and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi did a remarkable job to expedite the rebuild. The Giants were so good midway through the year they became buyers instead of sellers, trading for third baseman Kris Bryant. They made this splash without completely decimating their farm system because it had been restocked over the past five years.

So here's where the urgency comes in for both teams. The Giants are a team on the rise, but the veterans will have to make way for the prospects sooner or later. This could be the last dance for some players who brought titles to the city. Belt will be a free agent this winter. Pitcher Johnny Cueto has a club option for next season, and so does Posey. The Giants have Posey's heir apparent in top prospect Joey Bart too.

Crawford was extended through 2023 with a club option through 2024, but he was once viewed as an early-season trade candidate before forcing the club's hand.

A ton of key Los Angeles players are in the final year of their contracts. The heartbeat of the club, ace Clayton Kershaw, will be a free agent following this season, as will Seager, closer Kenley Jansen, outfielder AJ Pollock, reliever Joe Kelly, utility man Chris Taylor and starting pitcher Max Scherzer, their prized trade deadline acquisition. Some might return, but it's unlikely all of them will still be playing in Dodger blue next season.

All of this has culminated in what is perhaps the best divisional race in baseball history. It's right up there with the 1978 tiebreaker between the Yankees and Red Sox, the one where Bucky Dent, a light-hitting shortstop, hit a three-run home run over the Green Monster to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead and help them eventually win the game 5-4. It might be better than the 1995 AL West competition between the California Angels and the Seattle Mariners when the Mariners, led by Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, secured their first-ever postseason berth and saved the team from relocation.

But divisional races aren't remembered the way playoff runs are. Few remember that the Dodgers clinched the 2014 NL West title by routing the Giants 9-1 at Dodger Stadium—what we remember from 2014 is Madison Bumgarner coming into Game 7 against the upstart Kansas City Royals on short rest to close out the game and clinch the series.

So, while this race has certainly been entertaining, history is made in October, not September. At the end of the day, this race is still about playoff positioning. The Giants hold the edge and the Dodgers might be the favorites, so this race still has significant ramifications for each team as we head into the postseason and start playing the games everyone will remember. 

One of the best rivalries in baseball is only about to get better this weekend.

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is heading to the injured list with a fractured left thumb, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. 

He's reportedly looking at a four-week stint on IL:

I’m hearing the prognosis on Brandon Belt is four weeks. Game 1 of the World Series is four weeks from today. But that’s time for the bone to heal. Not a total return-to-function time. He’ll be reevaluated week to week, though.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) September 29, 2021

Belt, 33, suffered the injury on Sunday after being hit by a Lucas Gilbreath fastball while he squared around to bunt. 

Belt was hit on his left hand while squaring around to bunt, but he stayed in the game after getting it wrapped pic.twitter.com/z80NiaE5V7

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 26, 2021

It's a major loss for the Giants, who have the best record in baseball and are title contenders. He leads the team with a career-high 29 homers and a .975 OPS, adding 59 RBI and 65 runs.

It's been a career year for the one-time All-Star and two-time champion, helping to fuel San Francisco's surprising run to the top of the NL West. Being without him for the majority, if not the entirety, of the postseason is a huge blow. 

.@Ken_Rosenthal has the latest on Brandon Belt's injury & the Rays plan for their starting rotation in the postseason ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FI2jhs6Jkk

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 28, 2021

Kevin Gausman was out on the field wearing a captain hat with Brandon Belt injured pic.twitter.com/6bMrHclPAk

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 28, 2021

As for replacing Belt in the lineup, Darin Ruf is a possibility if he's able to come off the injured list himself after suffering a strained oblique last week. Getting Ruf back, who has hit 15 homers this year in a platoon role, would help alleviate the loss of Belt's bat in the lineup. 

If Ruf remains unable to go, however, Wilmer Flores is another option for the Giants at first base. Regardless, the team is going to be without its most dangerous power hitter for about a month. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers reached 100 wins for the third time in the past five years after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 on Sunday. 

Had the 2020 season not been shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dodgers likely would have hit 100 wins in four of the past five seasons. Last year's 43-17 record put them on pace to win roughly 116 games in a full 162-game season. 

The @Dodgers have won 100 games in a season for the 8th time in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/8GOFOZwP28

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 26, 2021

#Dodgers have won 100 games for the third time in the last five seasons with Andrew Friedman as President of Baseball Ops. Prior to this, Dodgers had only 2 seasons of 100+ wins in Los Angeles (1962 & 1974).

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) September 26, 2021

In a fun twist, both second baseman Trea Turner and shortstop Corey Seager reached the career 100-homer mark during L.A.'s 100th win of the season:

0 to 💯, real quick.

Congratulations @treavturner on your 100th career home run! pic.twitter.com/Al08bHbiTa

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2021

Keeping it 💯.

This is @coreyseager_5's 100th career home run and his second of the game! pic.twitter.com/8jelbTTudg

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 26, 2021

Despite being just the second team to hit the 100-win mark this season, the Dodgers (100-56) currently trail the San Francisco Giants (102-54) in the NL West by two games. Their reward for yet another excellent season may be a Wild Card berth. 

That would likely mean a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Game and an NL Divisional series against the Giants, assuming the Dodgers got past the Cardinals. Two 100-win teams playing in the best-of-five NLDS would be something of an anomaly, and a tough break for whichever team lost that series. 

Anything less than a title for this Dodgers team would be a major disappointment. L.A. is loaded with star power and a payroll ($267.2 million) that is nearly $64 million more than any other team in baseball, per Spotrac.

Compare that to the Giants, whose $161.7 million payroll is 10th in baseball. For context, Cleveland's $48.8 million payroll is the lowest in baseball (and barely more than the $45.8 million that NBA superstar Stephen Curry will make for the Golden State Warriors this upcoming season). 

The Dodgers are the defending champions, so sky-high expectations are nothing new for their core group of players. Getting past the Giants and repeating as champions will be no small task, however.