Dodgers near end of 29-year World Series drought

CHICAGO — It was April 12, the opening series at Wrigley Field, when the Cubs received the championship rings that signaled the end of a 108-year penance.

Across the field, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman wanted to know how his team would handle the ceremony. So he went around the room, asking every player he encountered whether he’d watch from the dugout or retreat into the clubhouse.

“Everyone had a slightly different answer,” Friedman said this week. “But what was unanimous was how important it was to them, for some team that we open with at home next year to sit and watch while we were getting our rings.”

The Dodgers moved closer to that vision Thursday night, when they seized a 9-1 lead against the Cubs in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.

Kiké Hernandez knocked in five runs. After hitting a solo shot in the second, he delivered the swing of his career in the third, launching a third-inning grand slam off reliever Hector Rondon that landed in the basket over right-centerfield.

A stunned crowd watched as Hernandez raised his right fist high before jumping up and down as he high-fived with teammates who spilled onto the field. His yells were audible even from the upper reaches of a silenced ballpark. Hernandez became just the fourth Dodger to hit a postseason grand slam, joining Ron Cey (1977), Dusty Baker (1977) and James Loney (2008).

The Cubs’ fate appeared even more sealed in the fourth, when Logan Forsythe’s double off the wall made it 9-0.

The gravity of the moment wasn’t lost upon the Dodgers, who began the night just one victory away from bringing closure to a painful plight. The franchise has not been to the World Series since Kirk Gibson, on one leg, hit his dramatic walk-off homer to set the tone for an upset of the powerful A’s.

“I like where we’re at,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said hours before sending his ace, Clayton Kershaw, to the mound. “So, once that first pitch is thrown, I think that’s probably the best part of the day. But we’re excited.”

The Dodgers’ championship drought has not inspired the same angst as the others. It certainly hasn’t dragged on as long as the curse that once plagued the Red Sox. Yet, for one of the game’s flagship franchises, it has nonetheless been a source of disappointment.

The Dodgers have appeared in the playoffs 11 times since 1988. They have reached the league championship series for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons. During their drought, they have spent money to no avail. Ownership has passed from the O’Malley family, to Fox, from the McCourts to a well-heeled consortium including Magic Johnson. They have changed general managers, adopting the new school (Paul DePodesta), old school (Ned Colletti), and the new school again (Friedman).

Finally, they have found the right formula. The franchise can still claim a direct line to Brooklyn. As they prepared for Game 5, Tommy Lasorda looked on, wearing a jacket of his beloved Dodger blue. The former Dodgers farmhand became manager, and then a mentor. Earlier in the day, he came across Roberts in the lobby of the team hotel and imparted words of wisdom.

At 90, Lasorda’s love for the Dodgers still burns, a reflection of a passionate fan base that has waited nearly three decades for a chance at glory.

“I don’t think until you live it you can’t really know it,” Friedman said. “I mean, obviously, I can do the math. I knew it had been a long time. But I don’t think I appreciated their passion until living it every day.”