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Dodgers defeat Giants in 10 innings to close out regular season with 100 wins

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Baseball

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Dodgers closed the 2026 regular season with a 5-1 win against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, bringing their record to 100-62.

"There's a lot of things that we had to go through this year," manager Dave Roberts said. "And we just continue to remain steadfast and play on."

The Dodgers were already locked into a No. 2 seed, with a first-round bye. But the slate of games Sunday sorted out the rest of the postseason bracket.

In the National League Division Series, the Dodgers play the winner of the best-of-three wild-card series between the No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies (who claimed the final NL wild-card spot with a win Sunday) or the No. 3 Atlanta Braves.

During the bye, the Dodgers will balance practice and live pitching with rest. Then they'll host Game 1 and 2 of the NL Division Series on Oct. 3 and 4. The Dodgers will hit the road for Game 3 on Oct. 6 and an if-necessary Game 4 the next day. If the NLDS goes to five games, it will return to Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9.

It's now the Dodgers' job to capitalize on it, but their regular season put them in a strong playoff position.

"Truly, 100 wins is hard to do," veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman said. "It's six months. It's a grind. A lot of ups and downs. A lot of people getting hurt. A lot of depth pieces stepping up. A lot of good things happening for a lot of good people on this team."

Here are the numbers that sum up the Dodgers' 2026 regular season:

100 wins

The Dodgers posted their best regular-season record since 2023, when they went 100-62. This is their fourth 100-win season in six years, and they've recorded 100-plus wins in six of the past nine full seasons.

Roberts has been at the helm for all six, tied with Hall of Famers managers Bobby Cox and Joe McCarthy for the most 100-win seasons.

Regular-season success isn't directly correlated with postseason performance. The Dodgers won the last two World Series after 98- and 93-win seasons.

9 games ahead of the rest

The Dodgers ran away with the NL West. They spent 181 days in first place, according to Baseball Reference. The Padres finished second and claimed a wild-card spot.

14 straight postseason berths

The Dodgers tied the record for consecutive postseason berths, set by the Braves from 1991 to 2005.

5 games the Dodgers' A lineup has been available

Injuries rolled through the Dodgers' position-player group throughout the season, including extended absences for Tommy Edman (ankle) and Will Smith (neck). Significant September injuries included Shohei Ohtani (knee, biceps) and Andy Pages (hand).

So, the Dodgers' last five games of the season were their only ones with their projected postseason lineup available. Those nine only started one game together. The team hopes that means the best is yet to come.

22 combined starts for Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow

The rotation was also hit hard by injuries. Along with Ohtani, Blake Snell (shoulder, elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back) were also limited. But they got healthy at the right time, joining stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA) and trade-deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal (5-2, 2.61 with Dodgers) to form a fearsome four for the postseason.

10 two-way games from Ohtani

 

This was supposed to be Ohtani's first full two-way season since 2023. But he only made 14 starts on the mound before injuries limited him to hitting. And in four of those pitching starts, he was not in the batting order, in an early effort to manage his workload.

His 1.79 ERA put him in the early Cy Young conversation. In the end, injuries not only ended that dream but tanked his case for a third consecutive MVP as well.

11 pitchers recorded saves

The Dodgers signed closer Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69-million contract in the offseason — securing a closer to a multi-year deal for the second straight year.

Between injuries and poor performance, Díaz lost the closer role. He made just 21 appearances and tallied seven saves. But in the final week of the season, he pitched his way back into the late-inning conversation.

Tanner Scott led the team in saves, with 25.

.715 OPS posted by Kyle Tucker

Tucker was the other big offseason signing. The right fielder set an average annual value record with his four-year, $240-million deal. Then he posted a sub-.800 OPS for the first time since his 2018 rookie season, when he logged just 72 plate appearances.

Tucker hit better on the road (.841 OPS entering Sunday) than at Dodger Stadium (.592). And he has swung a hot bat in September, entering Sunday with a .919 OPS this month.

1,000 career wins by Roberts

Roberts became the fastest manager to 1,000 wins with a victory against the Athletics on June 30. He finished the season with 1,044.

2,500 career-hits by Freeman

Freeman reached the mark on June 9, the first player to do so since 2019. He finished with 2,598 career hits, leading all active players.

4,034,219 Dodger Stadium attendance record

For the second straight season, the Dodgers' home attendance surpassed 4 million. They beat last year's record by 21,749.

11 wins for three-peat

The bye week will allow the Dodgers' front office to finalize the NLDS roster. They have decisions to make regarding their bench and bullpen.

Rookie Josue De Paula, up for a pinch-hitting role, is set to join the team Tuesday, Roberts said. And the team is considering utility player Hyeseong Kim as a potential pinch-runner.

Right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez, who landed on the injured list two weeks ago with lower-back discomfort, is scheduled to throw to batters this week at Dodger Stadium, Roberts said. If that goes well, he's expected to be on the NLDS roster.

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©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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