the Cubs boasted the best record in the Majors

Clayton Kershaw was born in the spring of 1988, and that fall, Orel Hershiser shut out the Mets to clinch the Dodgers' previous National League pennant. It seemed fitting that Kershaw was on the mound Thursday night at Clayton Kershaw Authentic Jersey Wrigley Field, leading Los Angeles back to the World Series for the first time since that memorable October of '88.
Gear up for the World Series at Dodgers Shop
Full Game Coverage
Hershiser, though, didn't get the offensive support Kershaw did on Thursday night. Enrique Hernandez matched Major League postseason records with three home runs and seven RBIs -- his grand slam in the third inning Corey Seager Authentic Jersey breaking it open -- to back Kershaw and power the Dodgers to an 11-1 victory in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series presented by Camping World and eliminate the defending World Series champion Cubs.
Los Angeles will now await the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Astros. Game 1 of the best-of-seven World Series presented by YouTube TV will be Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium -- a result of the Dodgers having the best regular-season record in the first year that determines home-field advantage in the Fall Classic.
Dodgers latest top seed to reach World Series

"Up there with getting married and having kids, it's right up there with one of the best days of my life," Kershaw said of reaching the Fall Classic. "Winning the World Series is really all that we play this game for. Cody Bellinger Authentic Jersey All the individual stuff is great, but at the end of the day, I just want to win a World Series. If we win, I might retire, so I might just call it a career. It's a special thing, and I know that I'm not taking that for granted."

Hernandez is the first Dodgers player with three home runs in a postseason game, the 10th in MLB history, the first in the NLCS since the Pirates' Bob Robertson in Game 2 in 1971, and the first to do it in any LCS game since the Angels' Adam Kennedy in Game 5 of the 2002 American League Championship Series.
"Are you sure that's a record? I don't know. It's unbelievable. It's amazing," said Hernandez, whose cancer-survivor father came from hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico to watch his son.

Enrique Hernandez has a historic night at the plate as he hits three homers to help send the Dodgers to their first World Series since 1988

"When Kenley [Jansen] and I signed back, we did a press conference at the stadium, and both of us talked about unfinished business and wanting to bring a championship back to L.A. and bring a World Series back to L.A., Justin Turner Authentic Jersey and we accomplished that," said Justin Turner, who was named co-MVP of the NLCS with Chris Taylor. "There's a lot of work in front of us. We're still not done yet. We're going to enjoy this tonight and start preparing for the next round."
MLB.com's Tim McMaster and Jeff Nelson discuss Chris Taylor and Justin Turner being named co-MVPs of the NLCS

Last year, the Cubs boasted the best record in the Majors, and they beat the Dodgers in six games in the NLCS en route to winning the franchise's first World Series championship since 1908. This year, it's the Dodgers who had the best regular-season record, as well as one of the most dominating pitching staffs.

"We're right where we wanted to be since the start of the year," said Taylor.

"It's a disappointing season that we didn't go to the World Series," Chicago pitcher Jon Lester said, "but whenever you get on the plane to go home or get in the car to go home, you have to look at the positives, and the positives are we gave ourselves a chance. It didn't happen this year. We got beat by a better team. You've got to tip your hat sometimes."