LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ victory in the National League Division Series on Friday night might seem like just another playoff win, but this one was truly significant.

This win was unique.

It marked the Dodgers’ most important win in three years, and potentially one of their finest in the past 36 years, paving a path for their first World Series championship since 1988.

This is the victory that vanquished their long-time rivals to the south, the Padres, who previously ended their season two years ago, nearly knocking them out again this time, and generally being a source of frustration.

The Dodgers finally triumphed over the San Diego Padres with a 2-0 win in the decisive Game 5, allowing them to move on to the National League Championship Series, where they will face the New York Mets on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.

Don’t try to convince Dodgers manager Dave Roberts that this win was merely a Division Series accomplishment.

“It’s relief, it’s redemption,’’ said Roberts. “I really wanted to beat those guys. We all felt the same way.’

“This is the most pressure I’ve experienced in a long time.”

Indeed, you could feel the excitement in the Dodgers’ celebration. It wasn’t just a typical beer shower with a few champagne bottles; it turned into a full-blown party. The players were running around shirtless, with cigar smoke filling the air and loud music playing.

“This is significant,’’ said Dodgers outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. “I think rivalries have softened over time with everyone being more friendly. There’s a lot of mutual respect, but we definitely do not like each other.”

Roberts described this victory as so monumental that it might even rank higher than his playing days when he was part of the Boston Red Sox team that came back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 ALCS.

“This is comparable to 2004 when we defeated the Yankees,’’ said Roberts, who played a pivotal role in that amazing comeback. “It’s on par with beating the Braves in 2020 to reach the World Series. This victory is right up there.”

“We’re talking about one of the best teams in baseball over there. It was a tough battle.”

Despite wanting to keep the message off the public record, the Dodgers are privately confident in their belief that the Padres are stronger than the Mets. They suspect the same about the Yankees and everyone else still alive in the American League.

Having overcome the Padres and breaking free from the Division Series for the first time since 2021, they now feel unstoppable.

“We’ve got a lot of determination,” said Dodgers center fielder Enrique Hernandez, who shined in October with a homer in the second inning. “We’re a collective unit of 26 players focused on one goal: winning the World Series.”

“On paper, we boast the strongest roster in baseball, but we also have a group of determined players eager to win at all costs, regardless of the circumstances.”

The Dodgers have always believed in their superiority as a team, but they’ve learned the hard way that talent doesn’t always guarantee victory. Sometimes, the journey demands more than skill and financial might.

“This season, from free agency to trades, it seems like we’ve consistently added the right players at the right time,” Hernandez continued. “This team is not only complete, but it also possesses the character necessary to endure a full 162-game season.”

“And then we face a team like the Padres, who are stacked and hard to beat in October.”

The Padres had the Dodgers on edge once, leading the series 2-1 with Game 4 taking place at Petco Park. However, the Dodgers’ pitching staff stepped up when it mattered most.

They managed to keep the Padres scoreless for 24 consecutive innings, retiring the final 19 batters in Friday’s game without giving them a single opportunity to score.

Despite facing challenges this season, including 10 pitchers sidelined with injuries and only three healthy starters remaining, their bullpen decisively silenced the Padres’ potent offense.

“If I were to name a series MVP,” Roberts stated, “it would undoubtedly be our bullpen. We faced so many tests, and we never backed down.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, their $325 million acquisition, pitched like a superstar, throwing five shutout innings and giving up just two hits. As the bullpen took over in the sixth inning, they continued their impressive performance from Game 4, not allowing a single baserunner in the last four innings of Friday’s game.

This Dodgers team is so versatile that Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to win the MVP award in November, had little impact in the last four games of the series. He finished only 3-for-18 (.167) with one RBI and 10 strikeouts, after starting strong with a homer in Game 1. In Game 5, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and failed to steal any bases throughout the series, despite achieving a career-high 59 stolen bases in the regular season.

But it didn’t matter.

“That’s what our 26-man roster is for,’’ said Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts. “We’re not just depending on one person; we are a complete team.”

The Dodgers demonstrated their strength and unity, with everyone playing a critical role.

In this series, Ohtani’s challenges have become secondary to the contributions of other players.

“We have a lot of stars, which is well-deserved, but we also have many great players,” Kiermaier remarked. “We may not be as widely recognized as Ohtani, Mookie (Betts), or Freddie (Freeman), but when you have such a deep team, you can never predict who will step up on any given night.”

“That’s what makes teams like us dangerous.”

Before the game, Hernandez told Kiermaier that if Yu Darvish tossed a first-pitch fastball his way, he’d hit a home run. Kiermaier couldn’t believe it when Hernandez actually did just that. “I was so fired up,” Kiermaier shared.

To ensure the Padres couldn’t mount a comeback, Teoscar Hernandez belted a homer off Darvish in the seventh inning.

Enrique Hernandez even reassured Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations, and Roberts that he would make certain of their victory.

“I kept reminding myself, ‘They signed you for a purpose,'” Hernandez recounted. “They brought me here to compete in October. I returned to this team because I genuinely want to celebrate with a parade… I was determined to help us win this game.”

Friedman confirmed, “He claimed before the game that he would secure a win for us tonight. He delivered on that promise.”

Dodgers owner Mark Walter watched the celebration from the side of the clubhouse, dabbing his eyes in disbelief over the recent victory. “That’s incredible,” Walter expressed. “That’s an impressive hitting team over there. But look at us.”

Friedman, the mastermind behind the Dodgers’ success, is no stranger to celebrations. This team has reached the postseason for an astonishing 12 seasons in a row, with seven National League Championship Series appearances, three pennants, and a World Series victory.

However, this particular celebration feels even sweeter due to the team’s recent postseason struggles. “Every time you avoid elimination,” Friedman noted, “it’s as big as it can get because the alternative is heading home.”

“We’ve been in a bit of a Division Series slump. Those who’ve been around felt the pressure when we were down 2-1. The new players weren’t interested in experiencing that.”

Now, they’re preparing for the formidable Mets, the remaining team blocking the Dodgers’ path to their first World Series appearance in a non-Covid season since 2018.

“We understand the task is far from finished,” stated Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips. “New York is a formidable opponent. They really had to fight to secure their spot in the postseason. What occurred here is quite extraordinary. It wasn’t like we declared, ‘We’re going to shut them out for the next two games; they’ll never score again.’

“But we’re a strong team.

“I believe we’re demonstrating that.”