Dodgers clinch playoff berth in Clayton Kershaw's final regular-season home game

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 13th consecutive playoff berth in the final regular-season home game of Clayton Kershaw’s career, beating the San Francisco Giants 6-3 at Dodger Stadium. The win also leaves Los Angeles tied with the New York Yankees for the second-longest playoff streak in major league history; only the Atlanta Braves’ 14 straight appearances (1991-2005) are longer.

Kershaw did not factor into the decision, working 4.1 innings and yielding two earned runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six. The 37-year-old announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of the season. "Quite the accomplishment," manager Dave Roberts said. "It never gets old, you never take it for granted. It takes a lot of hard work to get there." Roberts added that the club would acknowledge Kershaw’s career on this day, with the next step focused on winning the division. "That's one step. The next step is to win this division, so we still got some work to do. Once we do that, then we can focus on the postseason."

Kershaw said he’s eager to see what the weeks ahead could bring. "I'm excited for what the next five or six weeks could look like," he said. "Our team is honestly stacked with pitching right now. I can do the math. I know there’s only so many spots, so I’m just going to continue to try and pitch well and we’ll see what happens." "We’re going to try and win the World Series. I’m ready and willing to do whatever I can to help."

Kershaw will start again in the regular-season schedule when the team faces the Seattle Mariners next week, but there is no guarantee the future Hall of Famer will be a playoff starter. With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell in the Dodgers' vaunted rotation, Kershaw knows his opportunity to pitch in the postseason might be limited. "I know there are only so many spots," he said, "but I’m going to push to contribute wherever I can."

The Dodgers clinched a playoff berth but have not yet clinched the National League West. They lead the second-place San Diego Padres by four games in the NL West race, and their magic number is four to win the division. Los Angeles is trying to win its 12th division title in the last 13 years and needs three more wins to reach 90 for the 12th consecutive year. The Dodgers (87-67) will face the Giants (76-78) in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday at 9:10 p.m. ET.

With the win, the Dodgers secured another postseason berth and maintained momentum heading into a run at both the division title and a potential title run, even as Kershaw steps toward retirement at season’s end. The Dodgers’ rotation remains anchored by a mix of veteran and emerging talents, giving the club a deep pitching staff as it pursues October success.