The Dodgers’ road to the World Series: highlights from the NLCS
The Dodgers defeated the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, four games to one, in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Here’s what happened:
GAME 1: Dodgers 5, Chicago 2
Headline: Chris Taylor delivers decisive hit in Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over Cubs
Andy McCullough: On the first night of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers overcame a somnolent start and the psychic blow of losing their All-Star shortstop to capture a 5-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead in front of a sold-out crowd of 54,289 at Dodger Stadium. Unbowed by the absence of Corey Seager, the lineup outlasted Cubs starter Jose Quintana and bullied the Cubs bullpen. They turned a foreboding afternoon into a blissful night.
They relied on a cast of characters both familiar and obscure. Yasiel Puig sparked the offense with an RBI double in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh. Chris Taylor blasted the go-ahead shot in the sixth.
In the middle of everything was Charlie Culberson, a last-minute replacement for Seager. Culberson tied the score with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. He scored another run in the seventh on a controversial call at the plate, which elicited the ejection of Cubs manager Joe Maddon and the delight of the crowd at Dodger Stadium.
Clayton Kershaw withstood a sizable uppercut in the fourth inning, a two-run homer by Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., to complete five innings. He kept the Cubs scoreless otherwise, but manager Dave Roberts trusted his bullpen for the last 12 outs. The relievers retired all 12 batters they faced while Kenley Jansen closed the door with a four-out save. And the Dodgers rolled through their fourth consecutive victory this October, even without Seager.
They said it: “People use the word ‘poise’ a lot. But he has poise.” — Dave Roberts on Chris Taylor.
By the numbers: Kenta Maeda picked up his second win of the postseason with another scoreless inning of relief.
Bill Plaschke: He ran out of the dugout during introductions with his tongue wagging playfully out of his mouth. He took off his cap to reveal lightning bolts shaved into his haircut. Then, a couple of hours later, with a bat flip and a chest thump and roars that made Dodger Stadium literally shake, the Yasiel Puig Show officially began.
Nobody epitomizes the Dodgers’ current journey more than their free-spirited, 26-year-old right fielder who, since joining the team at the start of its division-title run in 2013, has run the gamut from star to scorned and now back to star again. He’s been cheered. He’s been benched. He’s been idolized. He’s been demoted. He’s been nearly traded about a dozen times, and, as recently as a month ago, he was scolded and punished for showing up late and missing batting practice.
But Dodgers management always kept him around in hopes that one day, he would maximize his incredible potential under the brightest of lights. That time appears to be now. So far, this October belongs to him.
Dylan Hernandez: This will take some getting used to, the sight of Clayton Kershaw replaced in the fifth inning of a game he started. Season after season of falsely claiming they were less dependent on Kershaw, the Dodgers finally have the bullpen necessary to unburden their longtime ace. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the front office’s vision has become reality.
GAME 2: Dodgers 4, Chicago 1
Headline: Justin Turner’s walk-off home run could be crushing blow for Cubs
Andy McCullough: It was something this ballpark and this city had not seen in 29 years. On Oct. 15, 1988, Kirk Gibson pulled himself off the training table for a legacy-defining homer off of Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley. Sitting on a living room floor about 25 miles south of the ballpark, inside his grandmother’s house in Lakewood, a 3-year-old boy screamed as the baseball cleared the fence.
The boy grew up to be a baseball player, then a big leaguer, then a Dodger, then the second Dodger to hit a walk-off playoff homer. On the 29th anniversary of Gibson’s home run, Justin Turner recognized the symmetry as he rounded second base. He decided against mimicking Gibson’s famed fist pump. Instead he hollered at his teammates assembled at the plate, tossed his helmet into the grass and disappeared inside the delirium of two dozen other Dodgers, a group two wins away from the World Series.
The noise inside the stadium felt volcanic. The ballpark shook beneath the weight of 54,479 fans stomping in the bleachers and shouting toward the sky. Dave Roberts emerged from the scrum and urged the crowd to raise the decibel level. Yasiel Puig did the same. The crowd obliged — because this ballpark may not host another game for more than a week.
Through 18 innings, the Dodgers have dined on the bullpen of the Cubs, a glaring weakness for an otherwise formidable opponent. In Game 2, the Cubs held firm until the bottom of the ninth, when veteran pitcher John Lackey fed Turner a 92-mph fastball at the belt, and Turner etched his name into franchise lore.
The moment underscored the strategic advantage Roberts holds over Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who chose Lackey over closer Wade Davis, who Maddon said was only available in a save situation. The situation never arose. Turner guaranteed that.
They said it: “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my baseball career.” — Justin Turner on his walk-off homer.
By the numbers: Rich Hill struck out eight and gave up three hits in five innings.
Bill Plaschke: The ball soared into the black sky, carried through the thick night air, dropped gently over the center-field fence, and the guy with the flowing red hair and bushy beard stuck out his thick arms as if they were wings. Today, all of Los Angeles is flying with him.
Happy anniversary, Kirk Gibson. Welcome to Dodgers legend, Justin Turner.
Dylan Hernandez: If the Chicago Cubs are America’s cuddly little team, then Joe Maddon is America’s cuddly little manager, an affable baseball lifer who is well-read and has a wide range of interests that extend far beyond the foul lines. Well, sorry, America, but your man blew it. And to think it was because Maddon couldn’t shake tradition, a somewhat unexpected turn of events considering this was the same renaissance man who changed how defense is played in the major leagues with his frequent use of shifts as the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Maddon stuck by baseball’s old axiom of not using a closer with a tied score on the road, which was why three-time All-Star Wade Davis remained seated in the bullpen at Dodger Stadium while reliever-by-necessity John Lackey served up a walk-off, three-run home run to Justin Turner.
His thinking wasn’t without reason, but John Lackey? Really?
GAME 3: Dodgers 6, Chicago 1
Headline: Dodgers walk over the Cubs in Game 3
Andy McCullough: In a postseason packed with bat flips, Yu Darvish’s in the sixth inning of a 6-1 victory over the Cubs was the most improbable. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dave Roberts allowed Darvish to bat for himself, even after sending Curtis Granderson to the on-deck circle as a decoy. Roberts decided outs were more precious than runs — and he would be rewarded with both.
The move looked curious in the moment. In hindsight, it served as another chapter in this pristine postseason, one in which the Dodgers own a commanding 3-0 series lead, and reside one victory away from their first World Series since 1988. Roberts manages a club in an enviable position.
Roberts operates with urgency in the playoffs, willing to insert pitchers and pinch-hitters with abandon in search of exploiting any edge. Here he opted for restraint, hoping to extend Darvish deeper into the game. As his team stormed to their sixth consecutive playoff victory, Roberts received the best of both worlds: Darvish took a walk to extend a two-run lead to three, then lasted 6 1/3 innings without permitting another run.
Darvish surrendered a solo homer to the second batter he faced, Kyle Schwarber. He did not allow another Cub to stand on third base. He finished with seven strikeouts. He lasted long enough to avoid exhausting the bullpen.
As Darvish displayed the strength of his chin, his teammates demonstrated their indefatigability. The lineup swarmed Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks, their nemesis from last October, with homers by Andre Ethier and Chris Taylor, then milked two runs out of Joe Maddon’s tinderbox bullpen in the eighth.
Hendricks took the mound with a lead. Darvish had given up two hits in his first postseason start as a Dodger. He allowed three in Tuesday’s first inning. Schwarber lifted a thigh-high cutter into the left-field bleachers for a solo shot. The blast gave away the strength of the wind as it carried out of the ballpark: The ball would be flying. A pair of well-struck singles followed, though Darvish escaped with a pair of strikeouts.
For the third game in a row, the Cubs scored first. An answer arrived in the top of the second. Hendricks tested Ethier with an 87-mph sinker, and the veteran ripped a tying homer over the ivy in right field.
They said it: “Every time they get something, it’s about how we can answer. Just trying to keep them on their heels as much as possible.” — Andre Ethier.
By the numbers: The Cubs were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, bringing them to 0 for 9 for the series.
Bill Plaschke: The Dodgers are so close to the World Series, you can hear it coming. It crept up with the clank of Chris Taylor’s home run off a center-field roof. It slipped nearer with the bang of Andre Ethier’s home run off a right-field scoreboard. Then, finally, on a classically fall Tuesday night, it descended upon all of Wrigley Field with a shhhhh that cloaked the hardy fans as if they were strangled by ivy. It’s almost here. They’ve never been this close to the Series since they last won it in 1988. And never in their 11 ensuing postseason appearances has it felt so real.
Dylan Hernandez: Andre Ethier waited six months for this, seven months, really, if you count the end of spring training. In the first at-bat of his first start of this postseason, Ethier was presented with his opportunity and didn’t miss, belting a second-inning offering from Kyle Hendricks over the ivy-covered brick wall in right field. The home run silenced the home crowd and energized the Dodgers.
If these are Ethier’s final couple of weeks with the Dodgers, what a final couple of weeks they will be.
GAME 4: Chicago 3, Dodgers 2
Headline: Cubs remain alive with narrow victory
Andy McCullough: Justin Turner did not make an out Wednesday. He bashed one of his team’s two home runs, a gargantuan blast off Cubs closer Wade Davis in the eighth inning. It was not enough. The game ended an inning later with Turner standing in the on-deck circle. By the time he returned to the dugout, the strains of “Go Cubs Go” rained down onto the field from the lungs of 42,195 fans, the theme song of a defending champion granted another day before winter. On the precipice of history, the Dodgers stumbled.
Alex Wood could not contain Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, the hitters could not solve Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and they could not unseat Davis. For the first time this series, the absence of injured shortstop Corey Seager looked glaring. The offense stranded nine runners.
Baez drilled a pair of solo home runs off Wood, who gave up three in all. Arrieta walked five and hit a batter but struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings. It was the lengthiest, most effective outing by a starting pitcher against the Dodgers in this postseason. Davis survived a taxing eighth and induced a game-ending double play by Cody Bellinger in the ninth.
The odds still reside heavily in the Dodgers’ favor. They hold a 3-1 lead. Davis needed 48 pitches to collect six outs, a workload that could limit his availability for Game 5. And the Dodgers will counter with ace Clayton Kershaw.
They said it: “They’re not just going to roll over and hand it to us. We’ve got to go out and prepare and play hard, and hopefully get a better result tomorrow.” — Justin Turner.
By the numbers: The Dodgers left nine runners on base.
Bill Plaschke: Strangest night of October. Cody Bellinger took the final big swing, yet somewhere down the right-field line he stopped running, stared at the sky, and rubbed his head as if lost. Chris Taylor had the final slide, yet when he stood up at second base, he was swarmed by celebrating Chicago Cubs, leaving him dusty and outnumbered.
Weirdest moment of the playoffs. The Dodgers lost. The Chicago Cubs won. Wrigley Field roared. Nobody is perfect. It was strange, but it wasn’t ominous. It was a hiccup, not a heartache.
Dylan Hernandez: If someone has to win the game to deliver the Dodgers to the World Series, it might as well be Clayton Kershaw. And why shouldn’t the chance to win the franchise’s most important game in 29 years go to the player to whom it would mean the most? He is the player most associated with the Dodgers’ failure to reach the World Series in recent years. It’s only right that he pitches the game that marks a long-awaited breakthrough.
GAME 5: Dodgers 11, Chicago 1
Headline: Dodgers party like it’s 1988
Andy McCullough: Clayton Kershaw climbed atop a plastic cooler and hoisted a green bottle of Korbel Brut. Below him heaved a delirious crowd of teammates, the 2017 Dodgers, the group who brought the National League pennant back to Los Angeles. Kershaw wiped the alcohol from his eyes and gazed upon the scene inside the visitors’ batting cage at Wrigley Field. “You are way too dry!” he shouted. “You are way too dry!”
Kershaw sprayed his bottle until it was empty and then descended into the throng, joyous to take part as they celebrated clinching the franchise’s first World Series berth since 1988. A 28-season drought ended in a hail of home runs from Enrique Hernandez, strikeouts collected by Kershaw and the relentless charge of this Dodgers team.
After so many years in which his organization asked him to play the savior, Kershaw reaped the benefit of an offensive bounty on Thursday. Hernandez supplied a trio of homers, including a third-inning grand slam that transformed the ballpark into a tomb and a two-run blast in the ninth that turned the Dodgers dugout into a mosh pit. They led by seven runs after three innings and by nine midway through four. Kershaw responded to the largess with six innings of one-run baseball. He will start Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
They said it: “When you’re a little kid, you want to go play in the World Series. That’s all you ever dream about. I never thought in a million years I’d get to say that. But I’m going to play in the World Series.” — Clayton Kershaw.
By the numbers: Hernandez’s three homers and seven RBIs set a Dodgers record for a postseason game.
Bill Plaschke: So this is what a Dodgers World Series team looks like. A couple of dozen players are climbing on each other in a tiny concrete bunker under ancient Wrigley Field, clutching with hugs and headlocks, spraying reddened faces with champagne and beer, drinking from a glittering trophy like it was a mug.
So this is what a Dodgers World Series team sounds like. The players begin chanting, not about the title, but about each other, like children in a circle on a playground, chants recognizing everyone from the stars to the scrubs, each name resounding like royalty.
So this is what happens when a group of locals finally reaches baseball’s biggest stage after 28 years of wandering around its darkened back hallways.
It’s cool. It’s fun. It’s soaked in relief, seeping with redemption, and awash in awe.
Dylan Hernandez: Over the last three years, Andrew Friedman, the team’s once-polarizing president of baseball operations, has prioritized fortifying the margins of the 40-man roster and stockpiling depth, which hasn’t always resonated with the star-driven market where his team was based. On Thursday, however, he did something every Angeleno could applaud. He returned the Dodgers to the World Series. With his players chanting his name, Friedman stood on a small table. Streams of champagne blasted him in the face. Friedman raised his arms. This was always the vision, this was always the plan, but it wasn’t always this harmonious.
The Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series
ALSO:
Dodgers leave outfielder Curtis Granderson off World Series roster
How Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen saved his parents’ home, and influenced an island
Column: Adrian Gonzalez, a clubhouse leader, chooses not to join Dodgers for this World Series
Are you a true-blue fan?
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
