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The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in Game 5 on Thursday at Wrigley Field to win the National League Championship Series 4-1 to advance to the World Series. It’s the first World Series appearance for the Dodgers since their 1988 championship year.
The Dodgers have five former Southeastern Conference players: catcher Kyle Farmer, pitchers Josh Fields and Alex Wood (Georgia), second baseman Logan Forsythe (Arkansas) and pitcher Ross Stripling (Texas A&M).
Los Angeles will face either the Houston Astros or New York Yankees in the World Series.
The Yankees hold a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series after winning 5-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday in New York. The Baby Bombers trailed 2-0 in the series but have won three straight games to come a win away from its 41st World Series appearance and first since 2009 in franchise history. The Yankees lead all four major North American sports teams with 27 titles. Game 6 of the best-of-seven series is Friday in Houston. The home team in this series has won every game.
New York boasts four former SEC players with pitchers Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt), Jordan Montgomery (South Carolina) and David Robertson (Alabama) and third baseman Chase Headley (Tennessee). Houston has three former SEC standouts: pitchers Will Harris (LSU) and Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas) and third baseman Alex Bregman (LSU).