It took seven games, a patchwork pitching plan, two comebacks, one in the series and one in Game 7, plus a massive Cody Bellinger home run — but the Los Angeles Dodgers are headed back to the World Series.
Now the fun begins. And now the real pressure is on.
This Dodgers team, after adding Mookie Betts in the offseason, was the World Series favorite. Anything less than a World Series win will be a disappointment to many, but the Dodgers are now four wins away from their first championship since 1988 — as they try to extinguish the ghosts of two World Series losses in the past three years and disappointing postseason endings every year since 2013.