5:25 p.m.
And we head to a Game 6 on Sunday.
The Mets closed out a rollercoaster Game 5 with a 12-6 victory over the Dodgers.
Fans were confident that the team would be buoyed by love in Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
Jon Pritcher, a fan from the Hollywood Hills, was in the stands for Game 1.
"It was an amazing atmosphere," Pritcher said. "I think it'll be exactly the same for Game Six. I think it'll be electric. And, you know, it'll be a bullpen game."
His friend Nick Lerner of Mid City commended the Dodgers for their performance so far.
"In the end, we went on the road and we took two of three," Lerner said. "That's all you would hope for."
4:35 p.m.
The mood has lifted at the Far Bar in the sixth inning, after rookie Andy Pages hit his second home run of the game and Mookie Betts had a solo homer.
Even though Shohei Ohtani has had a quiet game today, Gisele Lopez, an engineering student at West Los Angeles College, said she was still counting on him to lead the team to victory.
"The Dodgers are doing great right now," Lopez said. "I'm pretty sure the whole team is going to pull it together."
Her friend, Brian Martinez, a student at Cal Sate Northridge, said prior to the sixth inning he had been feeling "devastated" but optimism had returned.
"Now we're feeling more comfortable, definitely," Martinez said.
But Lopez was looking a bit more to the future than she had been at the start of the game.
"If anything, they're gonna come back on Sunday and we'll hope they'll wrap it up," Lopez said.
4:10 p.m.
Dodgers headed into Game 5 up 3 to 1 in the National League Championship series, but halfway through the game they’re in a bit of a slump.
The Dodgers have cut the Mets lead in half 10-5 in the top of the 5th inning, but Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty got rocked—- giving up eight runs in the first three innings. Tia Nguyen, a fan from downtown L.A., admitted she was a little stressed.
"I mean, they should have switched out [Flaherty] a lot sooner," Nguyen said. "He was already starting to implode. And you saw in the last inning, he kind of really fell apart."
But Nguyen said she still had hope. A lot of baseball left to be played, she said. She was kept busy explaining the baseball game to a friend visiting from Germany, Julian Rao.
Rao found baseball to be "complicated" but appreciated the atmosphere of the Far Bar, comparing it to the scene during football matches in Germany.
"But in Germany, it can be a little bit more rowdy," Rao said. "It depends how many people are in the bar."
Of course, being this behind in the game is subduing Dodger fans.
3:30 p.m.
We're now in the fourth inning and the Dodgers are down 1-8, but Jeff Brydle, a fan from Pasadena, is not wavering in his confidence.
"Dodgers are the comeback kings," said Brydle, a medical software manager. "I'm not worried about this game. I think they can do it, if not we got two more, but I hope we can do it today."
Brydle is so bullish on the Dodgers making it to the World Series, that he and his friend already purchased tickets for Game 1. He is in disbelief about how much he paid for a ticket — "it was under 1000 but it was a lot of money — and the seat is "not that great."
Then he reconsiders: "Any any seat in the World Series is a good seat."
How often does a fan get to go to the World Series, he reasons.
2:45 p.m.
We're at the Far Bar in Little Tokyo, where more than 150 people have poured into the Little Tokyo joint to watch the Dodgers take on the Mets in Game 5 of the National League Championship series.
It's the top of the 2nd. The Dodgers are just several innings away from making the World Series.
Jennifer Arreola joined her sister and three other friends, all wearing Dodgers gear. She said she was "100% sure" the Dodgers would clinch the game.
"We have the best team right now," said Arreola, an executive assistant who lives downtown. "Our offense is on point. Everyone is putting in their effort. (Right-fielder) Mookie Betts is finally waking up, so it's gonna happen."
11:03 a.m.
Can you feel it?
Every Dodger fan woke up this morning with the same feeling. The feeling of excitement with the Boys in Blue on the cusp of the World Series. The Dodgers are up 3 - 1 on the New York Mets. So yeah... close.
Game 5's first pitch is at 2:08 p.m. I'll be at the Far Bar in Little Tokyo where it will be packed with Dodger fans.
I expect many to be wearing Shohei Ohtani's No. 17 jersey and sharing their thoughts about his amazing season. The electricty around Ohtani possibly winning a World Series ring in his first season with the Dodgers goes beyond Dodgerland. The two-way powerhouse has gone beyond just being a Japanese fan favorite — he's now a global sensation embraced by baseball fans around the world.
Check back with us later as the Dodgers fight to clinch the National League pennant.
