The Los Angeles Dodgers needed a win over the San Francisco Giants to wrap up an NL West division title in San Francisco on Tuesday night with a great pitching matchup of Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw was the story in this one as he was about as filthy as ever in this ballgame. Kershaw went the distance with a complete game shutout, as he gave up just one hit while striking out 13 and walking one.

The Dodgers offense jumped all over Bumgarner in this one as MadBum really struggled. He lasted just 5.2 innings, as he gave up four runs (3 ER) while striking out six and walking one.

On offense, Los Angeles got it going right off the bat. In the top of the first, Justin Turner hit a sac fly to right to score Kike Hernandez to put his side up 1-0 early. Then in the third, Hernandez hit a long solo home run to left center to make it 2-0.

In the sixth inning, two solo home runs by Justin Ruggiano and A.J. Ellis had the Dodgers rolling as they opened up a 3-0 lead. With Kershaw on the mound, it seemed like an insurmountable deficit for the Giants to overcome.

Later in the eighth inning, the Dodgers added three more runs behind an RBI single by Corey Seager, an RBI triple by Andre Ethier, and a single by A.J. Ellis to make it 8-0.

Kershaw was on top of his game in this one, as there was no way he was coming out of this game. He ended the game retiring 19 batters in a row, as the Dodgers wrapped up their third straight NL West title for the first time in Dodgers franchise history.

The Los Angeles offense really came to life in this one as they pounded out 11 hits, as eight different Dodgers collected hits in this one.

The Dodgers have never been to the postseason three years in a row, but this era of Dodgers baseball has been a little different than the rest. Led by their pitching with Kershaw and Zach Greinke who combined for a 1.93 ERA this season, the Dodgers seemed like a lock for the postseason and they finally wrapped it all up.

With this win in San Francisco over the Giants, the Dodgers have now clinched the NL West title three years in a row with an eight-run win over the Giants and Kershaw on the mound. In addition, the Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streak with the win.

This is the Dodgers' ninth trip to the playoffs since 1988, and it happens to also be the most playoffs appearances without a World Series since their last one in 1988.

The series continues Wednesday in San Francisco and concludes Thursday. Los Angeles ends their regular season with a three-game series at home against the Padres.

WP: Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.16 ERA)

LP: Madison Bumgarner (18-9, 2.93 ERA)

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About the author
Josh Eastern
I live in Seattle, Washington and attend Indiana University as a journalism major. You can follow me on Twitter (@JoshEastern) and feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions/thoughts.