Dodgers' fate sealed as NL Wild Card hosts

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers entered the last week of the regular season with hopes of winning a ninth consecutive National League West title. Their only path to accomplish that goal included them winning all six games against the Padres and Brewers.

Los Angeles did just that, wrapping up a perfect homestand with a 10-3 win over Milwaukee on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, winning all six games this week wasn’t enough, as the Giants clinched the NL West with an 11-4 win over the Padres at Oracle Park.

• Box score

The Dodgers will now host the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. St. Louis will start 40-year-old Adam Wainwright. Los Angeles will counter with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.

“It’s a team that’s been playing well and feels good about themselves, just like we do. I think obviously we like our side of it,” said Dodgers starter Walker Buehler. “We have a three-time Cy Young winner in one game, but Wainwright has had this resurgence and he’s kind of different, he’s won championships and things like that. It’s going to be a fun game, an entertaining game, but we feel good about our clubhouse and who we’re running out there.”

With the Dodgers entering the day with a slim chance of forcing a Game 163, Buehler got the start. The right-hander, who is known to shine in big games, lived up to the billing, allowing one run and striking out 11 over five innings of work. Buehler’s first seven outs were via the strikeout.

Buehler made all 33 of his starts this season and finished the regular season with a 2.47 ERA, all while leading the Dodgers in innings (207 2/3). He will certainly be in the discussion in a crowded NL Cy Young Award race. If the Dodgers survive Wednesday’s Wild Card Game, Buehler would likely be the Dodgers’ starter in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Giants.

The Dodgers’ offense helped back up Buehler, continuing their impressive end to the regular season. Los Angeles used small ball to take the lead in the fifth, with Mookie Betts drawing a bases-loaded walk to tie it and Corey Seager’s infield single giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

But then Trea Turner delivered the big blow, smacking his second grand slam of the weekend to cap off a six-run fifth inning. Turner became the first Dodgers player to hit two grand slams in a span of three games since Hall of Famer Mike Piazza in 1998.

Turner, who wrapped up the NL batting title with a .328 average, certainly made his final case for NL MVP on Sunday. It remains to be seen if Turner did enough to win the award -- but he’ll have Buehler’s support.

“I don’t know why Trea isn’t getting spoken about in the MVP stuff as much,” Buehler said. “He’s had an extremely special year and he’s had a year that not many players can have. He’s a special player and kind of a game-changing player. I think Trea Turner needs to be on the minds of some people that maybe he’s not being spoken about enough.”

Not everything was positive for the Dodgers on Sunday, however. First baseman Max Muncy exited the game in the third inning with a left elbow injury. After a collision with Jace Peterson at first, Muncy immediately rolled around on the ground in obvious pain. He was down for several minutes as a team trainer inspected him before being removed from the game.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it’s “very unlikely” that Muncy plays in Wednesday’s NL Wild Card Game. It’s also unlikely that he’ll be available for a potential NLDS, though Roberts didn’t want to rule that out until testing is complete. Losing Muncy is a devastating blow to the Dodgers’ lineup. Muncy set a career high with 36 homers this season.

While the Dodgers fell just short of another division crown, the battle between them and the Giants was one of the best races in recent memory. The Dodgers tied a franchise record with 106 wins, set a new record for wins by a defending champion, and recorded the most wins ever by a second-place team in the Wild Card era.

• How They Got There: LA's ninth straight postseason berth

They’re also playing their best baseball of the season. Since the July 31 Trade Deadline, the Dodgers have a 44-13 record, the best in baseball. The Dodgers have also won a franchise-record 15 straight at Dodger Stadium. They will, however, have to navigate through the injuries to Muncy and Clayton Kershaw, who will not pitch in the postseason.

“For the regular season, I’m really proud of our guys,” Roberts said. “You have to give credit to the Giants, they had an even better regular season. They took it from us. … It’s not the path that we planned out, but now our focus just turns to Wednesday and winning a ballgame on Wednesday.”

Winning a ninth consecutive division crown was a big goal for the Dodgers entering this season. But their ultimate goal is to win back-to-back championships. That’s still within reach. It’ll just take an extra game to get there.

“It’s fun, it’s a Game 7,” Turner said of the Wild Card Game. “I think just getting to the postseason is underrated. I know we wanted to win the division obviously, but we have a chance to win a ring and that’s all that matters.”