One year later and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs find themselves in the exact same spot: Playing each other in the National League Championship Series.
Only this time, the dynamic of pressure is altered. The Cubs defeated the Dodgers in six games last year, then went on to win their first World Series since 1908. That’ll help remove any burden from a franchise’s shoulders.
Now the spotlight shifts to the Dodgers, who haven’t appeared in the Fall Classic in nearly 30 years.
Here’s an outlook of the series …
SCHEDULE
Game 1 (in L.A.)
Saturday, Oct. 14 — 8:08 PM ET
Game 2 (in L.A.)
Sunday, Oct. 15 — 7:38 PM ET
Game 3 (in Chicago)
Tuesday, Oct. 17 — TBD
Game 4 (in Chicago)
Wednesday, Oct. 18 — TBD
*Game 5 (in Chicago)
Thursday, Oct. 19 — TBD
*Game 6 (in L.A.)
Saturday, Oct. 21 — TBD
*Game 7 (in L.A.)
Sunday, Oct. 22 — TBD
* If necessary
HOW DODGERS CAN WIN
The Dodgers demolished the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Division Series and earned themselves some valuable rest. That means the club can position its starting pitchers in optimal fashion, beginning with Clayton Kershaw in Game 1. His post-season history is checkered and he allowed four homers in Game 1 of the first round. He’ll go a long way toward determining the outcome of the series. Rotation mate Yu Darvish looked solid closing out the three-game sweep of the D-backs and has only faced the Cubs once — in July 2016 — so the unfamiliarity could work in his favour. [sidebar]
Dodgers hitters are a disciplined bunch, chasing the fewest pitches out of the strike zone in MLB this season. The Cubs pitching staff is not what it was last year, so the L.A. offence, and a resurgent Yasiel Puig (5-for-11, four RBI in the first round) could create havoc.
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HOW CUBS CAN WIN
A five-game victory over the Nationals in the first round could have repercussions for the Cubs, because of what the pitching staff had to endure. Starter Jon Lester threw 55 pitches in a relief outing, while fellow lefty Jose Quintana tossed 12 out of the bullpen. Closer Wade Davis threw 44 pitches in Game 5 on Thursday and Carl Edwards pitched in all five games.
In addition, starter Jake Arrieta hasn’t looked good since returning from a leg injury in late September. Manager Joe Maddon will need a deft touch to navigate through the early games of this series.
As a team, the Cubs hit just .180/.285/.280 in the first round. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo combined to bat .200 (8-for-40) with 16 strikeouts. Don’t read too much into that, though. The defending champs are tenacious and gritty and will no doubt be emboldened by a scratch-and-claw effort that produced a dramatic Game 5 win over Washington.