CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Tarik Skubal struck out nine over seven shutout innings, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández homered, and the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 14th consecutive playoff berth with a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Great American Ball Park.

The Dodgers tied the record set by Atlanta from 1991 through 2005. The two-time defending World Series champions cut their magic number to three for a fifth straight NL West title and their 13th in 14 seasons. Los Angeles became the third team assured of a playoff spot after Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.

Skubal was dominant from the start. He allowed three hits, did not issue a walk and struck out nine in seven innings. He worked around a second-inning single by Eugenio Suárez with a double play, then stranded two runners in the fifth after singles by Juan Brito and a walk to JJ Bleday. Skubal retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh, finishing his outing with seven shutout frames. He improved to 10-7.

Nick Lodolo was nearly as efficient for Cincinnati, but the Dodgers made their three hits count. Lodolo pitched seven innings, gave up four earned runs on three hits, struck out four and walked four. He took the loss and fell to 3-5.

Tucker opened the scoring with a solo home run to right field. Teoscar Hernández added a two-run drive to right-center that scored Tucker in the fourth. Enrique Hernández delivered the final Los Angeles run with a line-drive single to center in the seventh that scored Teoscar Hernández, who had walked and stolen second.

Teoscar Hernández finished 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. Tucker was 1 for 2 with a home run, an RBI and two walks. Enrique Hernández went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Tommy Edman were held hitless as Los Angeles totaled three hits. The Dodgers also drew six walks and stole two bases.

Cincinnati had four hits. Elly De La Cruz prevented a shutout with a home run to center field in the ninth, his 27th of the season. He finished 1 for 4 with an RBI. Dane Myers, Juan Brito and Eugenio Suárez each singled for the Reds. Tyler Stephenson, Sal Stewart, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Héctor Rodríguez were among the Cincinnati batters retired by Skubal and the Los Angeles bullpen.

Alex Vesia pitched a perfect eighth for the Dodgers, striking out one. Evan Phillips worked the ninth and allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout. Luis Mey and Tony Santillan each threw a scoreless inning of relief for Cincinnati, and each recorded one strikeout.

The game moved quickly and took 2 hours, 14 minutes. Attendance at Great American Ball Park was 22,807. The Dodgers improved to 90-57 and snapped a two-game losing streak after dropping the final two games of a series at Miami. Cincinnati fell to 68-78. The Reds had won their previous game at Milwaukee. This was the opener of a four-game series between the clubs.

Los Angeles had swept Cincinnati at Dodger Stadium earlier in the month, winning 6-3, 3-2 and 14-1. The Dodgers will continue the series at Cincinnati on Tuesday, with three more games scheduled through Thursday. Cincinnati will then host the Chicago Cubs for three games, while Los Angeles returns home for a series against the San Francisco Giants.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Los Angeles 7, Cincinnati 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Dodgers a 64.4 percent probability to win. Los Angeles was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over-under line was 8, with the game’s total score at 5.