Last year, they chased the San Francisco Giants in vain until the final day, falling a game short of a division title and victim to an arduous postseason path as a lower-seeded wild card team.
It haunted them all winter. It was one of their main motivators this spring. And all regular season, it had been the goal most front-of-mind for the team with baseball's best record.
The Dodgers wanted to reclaim the NL West. Badly.
