Thursday marked a big night for the Los Angeles sports landscape, as the Dodgers took the field for Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, and the Lakers hosted the Clippers in the opener of the 2017-18 NBA season.
First pitch at Wrigley Field came roughly two and half hours before tipoff at Staples Center. Beyond fan bases of the Dodgers and Lakers being intertwined, there’s a connection in Magic Johnson.
He’s part of the Guggenheim ownership group that purchased the Dodgers from Frank McCourt, and in February he was named Lakers president of basketball operations. While assuming a significant role with the storied basketball franchise, Johnson maintained his standing with the Dodgers.
Before the Lakers began their regular season, the Dodgers pounced on the Chicago Cubs to take a 7-0 lead in the third inning.
It largely came on the back of Kiké Hernandez, who hit a grand slam off Hector Rondon. Watching the game from Staples Center, Johnson was thrilled by the hit, via Serena Winters of LakersNation.com:
Magic Johnson gets hyped after Kike's grand slam!!!! @Dodgers @DodgerBlue1958 pic.twitter.com/sAlnU3fK9j
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 20, 2017
The home run was Hernandez’s second of the game, with each coming on the first pitch of his at-bat. Hernandez joined Ron Cey (1977), Dusty Baker (1977) and James Loney (2008) as Dodgers to hit a grand slam in the postseason.
What’s more, he’s the franchise’s first player with a multi-homer effort in the playoffs since Adrian Gonzalez in 2013.
In what’s been a special season thus far and to help you show your support for the Dodgers and DodgerBlue.com be sure to shop here MLBShop.com, to gear up for the team’s run to their first World Series in 29 years.
