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Los Angeles Dodgers: Worst moments of the 30-year drought

By Jamaal Artis

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 25: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws his glove after he was unable to catch a ground rule double hit by Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros (not pictured) during the eighth inning in game two of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 25: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws his glove after he was unable to catch a ground rule double hit by Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros (not pictured) during the eighth inning in game two of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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1997 West Division Race

The 1997 West race came down to the Dodgers and their hated rivals the San Francisco Giants. The Dodger boasted a potent slugging lineup as they became the second Dodgers and Major League team to have four players hit 30 home runs in a season. (Mike Piazza 40, Eric Karros 31, Todd Zeile 31, and Raul Mondesi 30)

Despite the strong lineup the Dodgers struggled to stay above .500 through June that season. Starting July 1st the team caught fire and went 39-18 through August to take over first place. The Giants struggled throughout the summer and would pull off a big trade at the deadline. The trade propelled the Giants into the race.

The two teams began to trade first and second place in September and had a two-game showdown on September 17 and 18 with the Dodgers clinging to a two-game lead in the standings.

After losing the first game, the Los Angele Dodgers now needed to win to avoid being tied with the Giants. In a tense back and forth game the two teams went into extra innings tied at five.

The Dodgers started the tenth inning with three straight singles, loading the bases with no one out. Todd Zeile came up and struck out looking, next future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray swung at the first pitch and hit into a double play, ending the Dodgers rally.

The Dodgers never go close again, Giants fans know what happened next. In the bottom of the 12 inning, back-up Giants catcher Brian Johnson took a Mark Guthrie fastball over the left field wall for a stunning 6-5 win. The Dodgers couldn’t score with the bases loaded and it bit them when they needed a win most.

The Giants were two games better the rest of the way as the Dodgers missed the playoffs, they would never be that close again sustaining a playoff drought until 2004.

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