In what was a thrilling National League Division Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers came back from down 2-1 to defeat the San Diego Padres in five games with a 2-0 win on Friday night.
The stars were out at Dodger Stadium both on and off the field, but it was the Dodgers’ pitching staff that stole the show with their second straight shutout to cool off the red-hot Padres bats.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James perhaps served as a good luck charm for the Dodgers on Friday as he was in attendance for the winner-take-all game:
LePostseason LeBron James ? pic.twitter.com/77AOTZVqFY
— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2024
James has been to some Dodgers games in the past since joining the Lakers, supporting the other L.A. team as they look to win another championship. While likely sitting in a packed Dodger Stadium parking lot after the game, LeBron took to social media to congratulate the Dodgers:
Congrats @Dodgers on Advancing to NLCS!!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 12, 2024
James, of course, is from Ohio though so he made sure to wish the Cleveland Guardians luck in their own winner-take-all game on Saturday morning:
@CleGuardians Best of luck tomorrow!!! O-H ?
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 12, 2024
The Dodgers are now set to take on the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series with Game 1 taking place in L.A. on Sunday evening. The Mets disposed of a really good Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS so the Dodgers are in for another tough test to clinch a berth in the Fall Classic for the first time since 2020.
Dodgers channeling Kobe Bryant going into Game 5 against Padres
When facing a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-five series, the Dodgers were able to stave off elimination on Wednesday night by getting a win in San Diego to get the series back to L.A.
During their workout ahead of the pivotal Game 5 on Thursday, the Dodgers had a message in their locker room from Lakers legend Kobe Bryant that read: “Job’s not finished.”
Bryant famously said that in a press conference when the Lakers were up 2-0 on the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, going on to win that series in five games to clinch his fourth of five championships.
Now that the Dodgers have advanced past the Padres and moved onto the next round, they should continue to channel Kobe’s message as they look to go all the way and win the World Series.
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