LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers fans were holding onto a thin thread of hope as their team stood on the edge of elimination in the World Series.
Sunday night's Game 5 was the season's last in Los Angeles regardless of the result, and a cautious optimism was in the air at Dodger Stadium. Down three games to one to the Boston Red Sox, the Dodgers could lose their second-straight World Series and continue a 30-year title drought.
Saturday night's rough loss still stung for some.
"After the pain of last night, I swore off baseball forever," said longtime Dodgers fan Aaron Goldman, who was in the stands the last time the team won the World Series in 1988.
The vow only lasted one night and he was watching again Sunday.
The Dodgers immediately fell behind in the first inning as Clayton Kershaw, the team's best pitcher for much of the past decade, gave up a quick two-run home run. They would need a comeback win then two more victories in Boston to take the series.
"We still think our Dodgers have what it takes to win three in a row," said Scott White, another longtime fan, who was nervous but hopeful as he sat in the stands.
Sisters Selena and Sandra Armendariz were all positivity as they stood wearing tie-dyed Dodgers shirts taking pictures next to a giant statue of a World Series ring before the game, despite being here when the team lost the series to the Houston Astros last year.
They said they thought a win was a certainty.
"That's why we're here," Selena Armendariz said. "We got our ace pitcher on the mound; we're going to do it tonight!"
