Enrique Hernandez on Thursday put a Hollywood ending on an Los Angeles story three decades in the making.
Fueled by a home run trilogy from their emotional utility man, Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers are finally going to the World Series.
Hernandez homered three times and drove in a record seven runs, while Kershaw breezed through six crisp innings as Los Angeles ended the Chicago Cubs’ title defense with an 11-1 rout in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
Photo: Jim Young-USA TODAY
“It feels good to hear World Series,” Kershaw said. “It’s been a long time coming for this team.”
After years of post-season heartache, there was just no stopping these Dodgers after they led the majors with 104 wins during the regular season.
With Kershaw firing away at the top of a deep pitching staff and co-NLCS Most Valuable Players Justin Turner and Chris Taylor leading a tough lineup, one of baseball’s most storied franchises captured their first pennant since Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda managed Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser and Co to Los Angeles’ last championship in 1988.
“Every night it is a different guy, and this is one of the most unbelievable teams I’ve ever been a part of,” Turner said.
Kershaw is to be on the mound again when the Dodgers host the New York Yankees or the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday next week.
The Yankees had a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Houston last night, so one more New York win would set up another chapter in an old October rivalry between the Yankees and Dodgers.
Los Angeles made the playoffs eight times in the previous 13 seasons and came up short of their 22nd pennant each time, often with Kershaw shouldering much of the blame. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner took the loss when his team was eliminated by the Cubs in Game 6 of last year’s NLCS at Wrigley Field.
The ace left-hander was average during his first two starts in this year’s post-season, but Los Angeles’ offense picked him up each time. Backed by Hernandez’s powerful show in Chicago, Kershaw turned in an efficient three-hit performance with five strikeouts and improved to 6-7 in the playoffs — matching Burt Hooton’s club record for post-season wins.
“To get to be on the mound tonight and get to be going to the World Series on the same night, it’s a special thing,” Kershaw said. “Who knows how many times I’m going to get to go to the World Series? I know more than anybody how hard it is to get there. So, I’m definitely not taking this one for granted.”
When Kenley Jansen retired Willson Contreras on a liner to shortstop for the final out, the party was on. The Dodgers poured out of the dugout and mobbed their dominant closer near the mound, while a small, but vocal group of Dodgers fans gathered behind the visitors’ dugout and chanted: “Let’s go Dodgers! Let’s go Dodgers!”
On the field, manager Dave Roberts hugged Lasorda and told the iconic skipper the win was for him.
“I bleed Dodger blue just like you,” Roberts said. “Thank you, Tommy.”
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