Dodgers, Then and Now

The Dodgers' 0-2 start against the St. Louis in the National League Championship Series makes Monday's Game 3 a must win against the Cardinals' best pitcher Adam Wainwright. The Dodgers are certainly in a precarious position, but it is one that not only have they been in before but also one that they once reversed.
The year was 1981 and the Dodgers, managed by Tom Lasorda, went down 0-2 in the World Series against the New York Yankees. The Series switched to Dodger Stadium where Los Angeles won Games 3, 4 and 5, then flew back to New York and won Game 6, and the Series, 4-2.


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add Dodgers: Of course, the Cardinals were once on the short end of an 0-2 NLCS start, in 1985 against the Dodgers. Los Angeles won the first two games at Dodger Stadium, then lost the next four, beaten in Game 5 by a dramatic walkoff home run by Ozzie Smith, and in Game 6 by a blast by Jack Clark off reliever Tom Niedenfuer. Niedenfuer also gave up the home run to Smith, which was voted the greatest moment of the season for the Cardinals at home.


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last add Dodgers: Hanley Ramirez, their best hitter who was sideline in  Sunday's 1-0 loss with a bruised rib cage, may not play in Game 3 either. In 1988, Kirk Gibson had an injured knee that would require surgery in the off-season, and although he hit one of the most dramatic game-winning home runs in World Series history in Game 1, Gibson did not play again, even though  the Dodgers won in five games.