Reigning MVP Clayton Kershaw pitched the Dodgers to their third consecutive NL West title Tuesday night, beating Madison Bumgarner with a one-hit masterpiece and 8-0 shutout over the defending world champion and arch-rival Giants.

No Dodgers team or manager in the 132-year history of the franchise has finished in first place in three consecutive seasons until Tuesday night, when Don Mattingly’s club clinched the NL West title again.

The Giants played 157 games before the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West championship Tuesday night with an 8-0 victory at AT&T Park. San Francisco’s ability to avoid mathematical elimination this long actually was an enviable achievement, given the volume of games many top performers didn’t play.

In less than a week, the postseason opens on Tuesday with the American League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser. But there’s still plenty of regular-season action between now and then that will determine how the playoff field shakes out.

Here are Tuesday’s Top 5 GIFs, courtesy of @MLBGIFs.

Shawn O’Malley’s two-out, two-run single off reliever Pat Neshek in the eighth inning broke a tie and lifted the Mariners to a 6-4 win over the Astros on Tuesday night at Safeco Field, dropping Houston out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League.

Albert Pujols, even with the right foot pain that has been hampering him for almost a month, was impressive on the basepaths in the Angels’ 8-1 win over the A’s on Tuesday that vaulted them back into the second American League Wild Card slot.

Nick Tropeano dominated through 6 2/3 innings, his offense compiled 14 hits and the Angels kept rolling Tuesday night, beating the A’s, 8-1, at Angel Stadium for their seventh straight win. With the Astros’ loss to the Mariners, the Angels lead the second American League Wild Card spot over the Astros by a half-game.

Major League Baseball has set a competitive-balance record by assuring 15 consecutive years without a repeat champion.

The Texas Rangers went run for run with the Detroit Tigers for three innings before Cole Hamels turned the game into a pitchers’ duel, capped by Drew Stubbs’ running catch on former Rangers slugger Ian Kinsler’s drive to center field for a wild 7-6 victory on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.

Clayton Kershaw took the mound Tuesday night and there was no more fooling around. Kershaw threw a one-hit shutout in an 8-0 win and the Dodgers won the NL West, the second-greatest clinching shutout in MLB history behind Mike Scott’s no-hitter for the Astros in 1986. He pitched like a man on a mission, as he often is.

Just when a dismal August appeared to spell doom for the Angels’ postseason chances, something happened in September. Everything changed, clicked. The big three began getting help. Suddenly, the Angels are leading the second AL Wild Card and are just two behind the Rangers in the AL West with their final four games in Texas.

Tigers outfielder Anthony Gose not only made one of the most impressive catches of the year on Tuesday night, but he made it look relatively easy — and Statcast™ is able to explain the reasoning for both.

The Cubs continued their tuneup for the postseason Tuesday night as Miguel Montero smacked a two-run double to back Dan Haren in a 4-1 rain-delayed victory at Great American Ball Park, handing the Reds their 10th straight loss.

The real story of the Dodgers’ 2015 season is not yet written. But at least now it has a proper prologue.

Wednesday figures to be a day unlike any other during the 21 seasons of the Wild Card era — that is, of course, weather permitting. Due to a series of rainouts on Tuesday night, Wednesday’s slate will feature three doubleheaders, each of which carries postseason implications.

The number of remaining regular-season games left on the schedule can be counted on one hand, which means we’re closer to figuring out the postseason field and how it will fall. To have an even better idea, stay tuned to Wednesday’s games.