MLB jumps the gun with announcement about Dodgers clinching a playoff spot

Mon, Sep 12, 2022
MLB News (AP)

The Los Angeles Dodgers were the first team to clinch a spot in the 2022 MLB postseason Sunday, or so they thought. On Monday, MLB announced an internal error regarding postseason clincher scenarios, and clarified the Dodgers have not yet clinched a postseason berth. Their magic number remains one.

Here are the details of MLB's error (via ESPN):

MLB said Monday, however, that it failed to account for a potential scenario in which the Padres (77-64) overtake the Dodgers for the NL West title and Los Angeles finishes in a three-way tie at 96-66 with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee would win the NL Central in that scenario while St. Louis would win the wild-card tiebreaker with Los Angeles based on head-to-head results this season.
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When MLB issued its clinching scenarios ahead of Sunday's games, it was using the Dodgers' 4-3 record against the Brewers as a head-to-head tiebreaker and was not factoring the possibility of a three-team tie.

"It's a big accomplishment," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Associated Press after Sunday's win, believing the club clinched a postseason spot. "For me it's just making sure guys appreciate that it's not a rite of passage to get into the postseason every year and there's still a lot of work to be done. I feel our best baseball is yet to be played and just continue to stay focused."

Of course, the Dodgers clinching a postseason berth is inevitable. They need to go 0-23 in their final 23 games while the Brewers go 21-0 in their final 21 games to miss the postseason. Los Angeles will clinch a postseason spot soon, and soon after that the team will clinch its ninth NL West title in the last 10 seasons.

The next Dodgers win or Brewers loss clinches a postseason berth for Los Angeles. The Dodgers open a three-game road series with the Diamondbacks on Monday. The Brewers have an off day Monday, then begin a two-game road series with the Cardinals on Tuesday.

At 96-43, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball by 6 1/2 games. Their plus-310 run differential is baseball's best through 139 games since the 1939'Yankees'(plus-390). '