Topline:

The context: In a quick pitchers’ duel, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres on Friday evening to advance to the National League Championship.

What’s next: The boys in blue now have home field advantage when they take on the New York Mets this Sunday in a best of seven series. The winner advances to the World Series.

Read more… for more on how some fans reacted to the Dodger win.

Dodger Stadium was packed Friday night as the Los Angeles home team took on rival San Diego Padres at home in a do-or-die Game 5.

The moment the Dodgers clinched the division title — behind solo home runs from Kiké and Teosar Hernández and a ruthless bullpen that shut down the Padres — Chavez Ravine erupted in deafening cheers.

It was a lot like the scene at Al’s Cocktails, where Dodger faithful gathered to watch their boys play in the city of San Gabriel on Friday nights.

Wendy Hopkins is both a lifelong San Gabriel resident and a Dodgers fan. She said she started going to games in the 1970s because her father, who worked for the county, got cheap $7 tickets.

She has never had any doubts since.

Wendy Hopkins and her boyfriend Armando Arce at Al’s Cocktails.

“I didn’t have any doubts because they always work it out in the end,” she said of Game 5. “I wasn’t worried about this.”

Hopkins went to a World Series game in 2020 when the Dodgers went all out.

“It was amazing,” she said.

But because of the pandemic, the atmosphere wasn’t the same. She hopes the Dodgers will get the full treatment this year: a full stadium, big crowds and another World Series ring.

Next to Hopkins at the bar was Claudia Nuñez of Alhambra. She was completely nervous going into tonight’s deciding match.

Claudia Nuñez at Al’s in San Gabriel, watching Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the Padres.

“I love the Dodgers and that’s my favorite. ”The love was also passed down from her father, who recently passed away.

“He always loved the Dodgers, that’s what reminds me of him. It was Fernando Valenzuela and (Rick) Monday and all those other stars and that’s what he taught me,” she said. “On Sunday, the Dodgers will take on the New York Mets for the National League Championship Series. It would be a home game.”

Although she would like her team to continue, Nuñez is zen.

“It doesn’t matter if they win or lose,” she added. “It’s about the people who support the Dodgers, that’s what it is.”

And you might find her on Sunday around 5:15 PM, watching the game with her Dodger friends at Al’s in San Gabriel.