SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The deep Denard Span Jersey , slugging Los Angeles Dodgers took a far more challenging road on their sixth straight trip to the playoffs. Despite it all, they still believe they’re the team to beat for a World Series title.s, including a pair of disabled list stints for ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left the Dodgers in a hole and needing to win in the final weekend to claim baseball’s final postseason berth.Kershaw and the Dodgers earned that spot and moved into a tie with Colorado for the NL West lead, getting a go-ahead triple from Manny Machado in the eighth inning Saturday and beating the San Francisco Giants 10-6.And they celebrated, even with more to accomplish Sunday.Colorado lost at home to Washington, dropping into a tie for the division lead. The regular season is scheduled to end Sunday — if Los Angeles and Colorado finish even, there will be a one-game tiebreaker for the West title Monday at Dodger Stadium.“It hasn’t been easy, I guess, this year, we’ve kind of been in a dogfight the whole year as far as with the Diamondbacks and the Rockies,” Kershaw said between dousings. “This game in particular just kind of showed the team that we have. It’s never good when I’m a better hitter than I am a pitcher. That’s what it was today. For these guys to pick me up like they did today — I don’t know, I think we had 18 hits or something — it’s just really special to be a part of. The celebration today is a little bit more subdued, and we want it that way.”The Dodgers Guillermo Heredia Jersey , who haven’t won the World Series since 1988 and lost in Game 7 to Houston last year, assured themselves at least a spot in the wild-card game. They joined Colorado, Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee in the NL playoff field.Once the champagne had been popped, sprayed in triumph and consumed, many of the Dodgers were headed back to their hotel to watch the Rockies.“We went through a lot of ups and downs, but we’ve still got a chance to win the division,” veteran Matt Kemp said. “I think everybody’s going to sit there and watch the game tonight and see what happens and try to take care of business tomorrow.”After the final out, the Dodgers exited their dugout and high-fived in a tame celebration. Manager Dave Roberts waved to hundreds of fans in the outfield bleachers.The Dodgers’ win eliminated St. Louis from playoff contention. The Cardinals beat the Cubs earlier in the day to preserve their postseason chances for another few hours.Machado, the star infielder acquired from Baltimore during the All-Star break, hit a two-out triple off Mark Melancon (1-4) for a 6-5 lead. Max Muncy added a two-run double during a four-run ninth, much to the delight of all the Dodger Blue in the rival’s ballpark.Alex Wood (9-7) pitched the seventh for the win and Kenley Jansen closed it out. Roberts said afterward it was a “no-brainer” with too much on the line to not go with his reliable ninth-inning man.Kershaw allowed eight hits and five runs — his most in 44 starts against the Giants — over five innings and had a two-run single in the fourth for his first career RBIs in 24 games at AT&T Park. The lefty made just 26 starts and failed to beat the Giants in four 2018 outings. He missed double-digit wins for the first time since going 8-8 in 2009, also the last season he didn’t beat San Francisco at least once.He said he has been too “preoccupied” with getting to the playoffs to consider his next step and future, saying http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-ben-gamel-jersey , “I have no idea … I can’t give an answer because I really don’t know what is ahead.”Joc Pederson gave the Dodgers a fast start with his 11th career leadoff home run, his franchise-record eighth this season. Yasiel Puig connected to start the second inning.The Dodgers dropped into second place in the West behind the Rockies following a 7-2 loss at Arizona on Wednesday. That left Los Angeles the final weekend against its rival to capture a third playoff trip in as many years under Roberts.He still believes these Dodgers — with their talented rotation, bullpen and loaded lineup — are in prime position to bring home a championship.“I think we’re the best team,” Roberts said. “And I’ve said it. Most importantly though we’ve still got to go out there and play like it.”ROOKIE HIGHS AND LOWSGiants rookie Dereck Rodriguez, who lasted just three innings while facing the Dodgers for the first time, saw his winless stretch reach seven starts since defeating the Pirates on Aug. 12. His 2.81 ERA with a minimum of 100 innings pitched ranks lowest in San Francisco history for rookies. The Giants lost his last seven outings and nine of 11.“I’m sure he’s disappointed that his last start went like this but he’s done an unbelievable job,” manager Bruce Bochy said.TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: OF Austin Slater won’t play again this year because of a strained right elbow revealed by an MRI exam. He’s expected to be full strength by spring training.Umpire: Friday plate umpire Brian Knight broke his left foot on a foul tip in the top of the sixth inning — he kept working — then was replaced Saturday by Ed Hickox, who arrived in the Bay Area about 3 a.m. after working a 15-inning Diamondbacks-Padres game at San Diego.UP NEXTDodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 2.76 ERA) won in his first career start at AT&T Park on April 28. The Dodgers weren’t ruling out a change based on the Rockies’ outcome.Giants: LHP Andrew Suarez (7-12, 4.22) has received three or fewer runs of support in 21 of his 28 outings. Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel won’t be around when the bat and ball bags are opened at spring training throughout Florida and Arizona this week.They are among the dozens of free agents still looking for jobs, joined by Mike Moustakas, Marwin Gonzalez Mike Marjama Jersey , Carlos Gonzalez and Gio Gonzalez.For the second straight winter, camps are opening with many rosters in exceptional flux.“The market will sort itself out,” St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said at last week’s owners’ meetings. “There is a long time between the end of the season and spring training, and there’s maybe not so much a sense of urgency on whichever side it happens to be.”Among the 164 players who exercised free agency rights at the end of last year’s World Series, 84 had announced agreements on the eve of spring training. That is up from 65 of 166 at roughly the same point last season but down from 105 of 158 two years ago.Boston added J.D. Martinez last Feb. 26 and Philadelphia brought in Jake Arrieta on March 12. All but 26 of the free agents last offseason eventually reached deals, but some with big-money contracts flopped after late starts: Yu Darvish joined the Chicago Cubs on Feb. 13, went 1-3 and didn’t pitch after May 20 because of arm problems. Eric Hosmer finalized his agreement with San Diego on Feb. 19 and hit a career-worst .253 with 69 RBIs. Alex Cobb signed with Baltimore on March 26 and went 5-16.A drawn-out negotiating process means clubs have lost time in marketing new acquisitions, which seems especially significant to a sport coming off three straight years of attendance declines. Average attendance dropped below 30,000 last year for the first time since 2003.“We want players signed, particularly star players. I wish they were signed and ready to go,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Friday. “We got another week before they have to report. I’m really hopeful that it’s going to get resolved during that period of time.”Oakland takes the field first, starting workouts Monday in Mesa, Arizona. Seattle follows Tuesday in Peoria, Arizona http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-mitch-haniger-jersey , with both teams getting early starts because they open the season in Tokyo on March 20-21, a week before other teams get underway. Every other club launches practice Wednesday or Thursday except for Atlanta, which waits until Saturday.Six new managers are in charge for the second straight spring training and five of them are big league rookie skippers for the second straight year. Rocco Baldelli (Minnesota), David Bell (Cincinnati), Brandon Hyde (Baltimore), Charlie Montoyo (Toronto) and Chris Woodward (Texas) are first-timers running a big league dugout, joined by the Los Angeles Angels‘ Brad Ausmus, Detroit’s manager from 2014-17.One of last year’s rookie managers was Alex Cora, who led Boston to its fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. The Red Sox hope to become the first team to win consecutive titles since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.“Repeating is tough,” Cora said. “It starts with the players. People are going to talk about hangovers and all that and the banquet circuit. It’s part of it. But they’ve been disciplined enough.”New baseball operations heads are in charge of three teams: Mike Elias (Baltimore), Farhan Zaidi (San Francisco) and Brodie Van Wagenen (New York Mets).Among the major trades of the offseason, Philadelphia obtained catcher J.T. Realmuto from Miami, St. Louis got first baseman Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona and the New York Mets got second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz from Seattle. In the free-agent market thus far, Washington added left-hander Patrick Corbin and the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock Edwin Diaz Jersey , Atlanta got third baseman Josh Donaldson and Colorado picked up second baseman Daniel Murphy.By March 28, when most teams open, many rosters will look significantly different. The Mets and Phillies have noticeably bolstered theirs. Others chose rebuilding and appear to have little chance to reach the postseason: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Kanas City, Miami, Seattle and Toronto.“There’s always been players available in February or March,” Van Wagenen said. “I think there’s been a higher volume of more-recognizable names than in the past.”