Once again, for the fourth straight year, the Los Angeles Dodgers close out the season as NL West champions – 12th division title in 13 years. It took the reigning World Series winners a bit longer than many expected. Largely because the Dodgers’ bullpen has been a persistent problem. To stabilize it, the team reached a point of desperation—using starting pitchers Roki Sasaki and Clayton Kershaw in a late-inning meltdown on Wednesday.

Until now, the Dodgers’ only hope to fix their bullpen situation was if they could clone the two-way star Shohei Ohtani so he could pitch as a starter and a reliever both in the postseason.

However, after watching Kershaw and Sasaki close the game on Wednesday, the Dodgers will likely use them as relievers in October. MLB Network’s Tom Verducci has already predicted that Sasaki will be the Dodgers’ closer in the postseason.

Meanwhile, no one could have described the Dodgers’ bullpen situation better than Dave Roberts. Recently, he admitted seeing a “crisis of confidence” among his relief corps.

“When you’re out on the mound, you’re the guy on the mound with the ball. You’ve got to find a way to have that conviction within yourself each time. I can continue to support them, but I’ve got to find some guys that are going to pitch with conviction and go out there and compete and bet on those guys,” he explained. After all, who could’ve expected Tanner Scott to hold a 5.00 ERA at this stretch? He had signed one of the largest free agent contracts ever given to a reliever. And Kirby Yates has been even worse with a 5.23 mark.

He’s the same guy who held a 1.17 ERA closing out games for the Texas Rangers last season. Now it’s unrealistic to expect the starters to pitch complete games every outing. “Our starters can’t go nine every night. We’re looking for some guys to step up. We need it. We need these guys.” Dave Roberts said.

That’s exactly what Kershaw did on Wednesday. He stepped up as a reliever for the first time in six years, only to help his team. His postseason role is not yet decided, but for now, he’s celebrating one last time with his team before the playoffs begin.

Dodgers’ new late-inning game rescue celebrates division title win

The Dodgers notched Thursday’s 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks and boosted their record to 90-69. However, they lost their first game against the D-Backs due to a bullpen meltdown, and it almost repeated on Wednesday as well. But thanks to Kershaw, who didn’t mind stepping up despite playing as a starter for more than half a decade.

When he was asked if a bullpen role was something he wanted to experience before the postseason, he made it known—“I’ll do whatever they want.” The Dodgers have starters in surplus. It’s the bullpen that has led the team down time and again. Now, with Kershaw’s performance, and of course, with Roki Sasaki back with his 100mph ball after 5 months, LA may have found a breather!

Now, it’s unlikely that Kershaw will be the Dodgers’ ace in the postseason. But for now, until his role is official for October, he’s celebrating with the boys one last time.

This is the 14th time he has celebrated the NL West Division championship. After Thursday’s win, he took his shirt off with a Dodgers cap and beer dripping off his body as he stood in the clubhouse with the team. That vibe is all over the internet and quite frankly, too good to look away from! Have you checked the celebration videos yet, though?