Ohtani and his Dodgers bathe in champagne after winning the West

Shohei Ohtani broke a tie for the second straight game to continue his impressive form in the batter’s box and The Dodgers, who scored five times in the seventh inning, won the NL West title again by defeating the Padres of San Diego 7-2 on Thursday night.

It’s the 11th. division championship for the Dodgers in the last 12 seasons, eight of them under manager Dave Roberts. This is one of the greatest streaks of dominance by a team in the history of the Old Circuit.

Down 2-0, the Dodgers – whose magic number was 2 after their victory on Wednesday – woke up in the seventh inning to the delirium of a full stadium for the third game of the crucial series against San Diego, the team that had the most games he has won in the Major Leagues since the All-Star Game.

Shohei Ohtani makes history by reaching 400 total bases for the season

First it was Will Smith, who tied the score with a home run across center field against Joe Musgrove, who had pitched an impeccable game for the Padres until before walking Max Muncy prior to the Dodger catcher’s home run.

Later, With runners on first and second base, Shohei Ohtani gave Los Angeles the lead with a hit grounder to right against left-handed reliever Tanner Scott. A throwing error left runners in scoring position and Mookie Betts immediately hit the right-hander for two more runs and a 5-2 lead.

For Ohtani, who remains with 53 home runs and 56 stolen bases, it was the tenth hit in his last 11 opportunities with runners in scoring position. He went 3 for 5 in the game and is now hitting .305.

With a double in the eighth inning, the Japanese became the first MLB player to reach 400 total bases since 2001. Of those 400 bases, 212 are the product of his 53 home runs.

Cuban Andy Pages scored with a two-run homer in the eighth for the Dodgers, whose only negative note of the night was an injury suffered by Freddie Freeman while he was thrown out on a grounder to first base in the seventh inning, twisting his ankle right.

Dodgers can still finish as No. 1 in the National League for playoffs

Walker Buehler pitched well in 5 innings and four Dodger relievers combined for the rest in another solid night from the Los Angeles bullpen.

By winning the division, The Dodgers can now think about seeking the first seed in the National League for the playoffs. Heading into the final weekend they are tied with Philadelphia (94-65). The Phillies have the tiebreaker in their favor.

News in development.