CLAYTON KERSHAW was the winning pitcher as the Dodgers won their ninth NL West title in 10 years (Flickr/David Slaughter).

By David Arthur/Orange County Tribune

 Behind a masterful pitching performance by a certain-to-be Hall of Famer, the Los Angeles Dodgers made more history Tuesday night as they won their ninth National League West title in 10 years with a 4-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Clayton Kershaw (8-3) pitched seven shutout innings, yielding only two hits. He struck out five batters and walked two.

“I just want to say I love you guys and thank you for being so good,” said Kershaw about his teammates. “It’s really fun to be on this team.”

As befitting a team that has dominated the division, league and – sometimes – baseball for a decade, the final out was not followed by a delirious dog pile but a series of sober smiles as if to say, “This is just the first step.”

There are still, after all, another 21 regular season games to play before heading in the playoffs, probably as the favorite.

The Dodgers (98-43) offense on Tuesday night was keyed by home runs by Tony Gallo (his 17th of the season), Freddie Freeman (20th) and Max Muncy (20th).

At the other end of the success spectrum, the Los Angeles Angels (61-81) lost 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians in Ohio. With the defeat, the Halos slipped out of third place in the American League West into fourth, a game behind the Texas Rangers.

Mike Trout ended his streak of homering in seven straight games, going 0-for-3 with one walk. The lone Angel score came on a third-inning home run by catcher Matt Thaiss.

Angel starter Jose Suarez (6-7) worked 5.1 innings, giving up nine hits and three earned runs. He struck out three batters and walked none.