A blue bag of official L.A. Dodgers peanuts from Hampton Farms sat in my cupboard for several months. I figured I’d snack on them when I got a chance to sit back and watch a game of significance. For the past five years, the Dodgers have been no-shows on regular TV in most Southern California households. (Don’t bother complaining; nobody seems to be listening.) They made a few sporadic appearances on national TV or games covered by the Angels’ network, but it was not until Monday that I covered myself in peanut shells while taking in the 163rd game of a 162-game season.
It happened because the Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies finished the season in a deadlock atop the National League West standings, and they needed a one-game tiebreaker. Thankfully, the unconscionable SportsNet L.A. blackout ended a day earlier, and all postseason games will be televised on available networks.
Dodger Stadium looked prettier than ever, with puffy clouds decorating deep-blue skies beyond center field. It was the most consequential game there since the 2017 World Series, because to lose would mean risk of elimination in a single wild-card game the next day against the Cubs in Chicago. It would be a test of the Dodgers’ grit and resolve, their first step on the road back since their Game 7 collapse in the Series.