The Dodgers clinched the National League West tonight by defeating the San Francisco Giants 9-1 behind Clayton Kershaw. Always grand to clinch against the Giants, and let them watch the team in blue celebrate.

But, more important, the Dodgers winning the division, and avoiding the wild-card stuff, comes a week after the Angels secured the American League West.

Which means, of course … the possibility of the first Freeway Series!

A true Freeway Series, which would pit the Dodgers and Angels in the World Series, is like a unicorn: Often talked about, never actually seen.

The notion of a Freeway Series is a localized rendering of what in New York is called a Subway Series.

The big difference being … a Subway Series has happened. Fourteen times, actually.

Granted, New York had many more opportunities, with three big-league teams in the city for most of the history of the World Series. But, still, you would think that the Dodgers and Angels would have bumped into each other at least once in the 52 previous seasons they have shared the L.A. market.

This, however, is the most promising opportunity yet.

The Dodgers and Angels have made the playoffs in the same season three times previously. In 2004, when each went out in the division series … in 2008, when the Dodgers got to the league championship series but the Angels went home one round earlier …

And in 2009, when each got to the LCS, much to my surprise, given that the Dodgers had to beat the St. Louis Cardinals to get there and the Angels had to defeat the Boston Red Sox — and the L.A. teams had been tormented by those two opponents.

The Angels then took the New York Yankees to six games in the LCS, but the Dodgers lasted only five against the Philadelphia Phillies.

And here we are.

Never has a Freeway Series seemed more likely.

The Angels are the best team in baseball; they could still win 100 games.

The Dodgers are one of the two best teams in the National League (Washington being the other), and could still finish with the best record.

Both L.A. teams would be solid favorites to eliminate their first-round opponent, The Dodgers probably would get the Cardinals, but possibly the Pittsburgh Pirates or Giants) — as would be the Angels (likely the Kansas City Royals or Oakland Athletics.)

If form held, the Dodgers would get the Nationals in the LCS and the Angels would get the Orioles, and neither matchup looks scary, for the SoCal teams.

It’s high time for a Freeway Series.

Besides the 17 Subway Series, baseball has also seen a Bay Bridge Series (the Giants and the A’s), in 1989.

Even the Chicago teams, the White Sox and Cubs, met in a World Series, albeit in 1906, in a rivalry that doesn’t seem to have a name that people can settle on.

We also could make a case that Los Angeles is the best possible place to have a World Series between the local teams because it has no NFL team to vie for the attention of break of fans. Certainly, if we go by attendance, the Los Angels baseball teams (each over 3 million tickets sold) are out in front of the pairs in New York, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area.

I like both teams, too, as competitive entities.

The Angels don’t have a dominant starting pitcher, since Garrett Richards went down with a kneee injury, but they have three fairly solid guys, in Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Matt Shoemaker. They can hope that Hector Santiago keeps them in a game or two he might start. Huston Street is a fine closer.

They also have the highest-scoring team in baseball. Mike Trout is the best player in the game, and Carlos Pujols has turned back the clock a bit. Kole Calhoun is a fine leadoff man, and the middle-infield pair of Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar are very productive hitters.

I may actually like the Dodgers’ chances a little better, given how they have closed with a rush and have Kershaw, Best Pitcher in Ball. I also like Zack Greinke better than any of the Angels’ top four. Dan Haren is an acceptable No. 3, as long as he can keep the ball in the yard (27 homers allowed), but things are sketchy thereafter, with Roberto Hernandez most likely to get a start.

Kenley Jansen is another fine closer.

The Dodgers offense, meanwhile, is as good right now as it has been in any time since the Cey-Garvey-Lopes-Baker-Smith Dodgers of the middle 1970s.

Matt Kemp‘s big second half brings back memories of 2011, and Adrian Gonzalez has been a steady run-producer. Dee Gordon (90 runs, 64 steals, 12 triples) is a nice leadoff man (and would be very nice if he walked a bit more), Yasiel Puig can do something amazing at any given moment, and Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford have been productive of late. Juan Uribe, too, much to my surprise.

So, the table is set.

These are the strongest Dodgers and Angels teams to make the playoffs in the same year, and it’s not close. Both look as likely as anyone in their league to get to the World Series, even taking into account the unpredictable nature of short playoff series.

A Freeway Series?

Get ready for some unicorn sightings.