Miguel Montero’s pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the eighth is the key blow as Chicago takes a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is Sunday at 5 p.m. PDT with Clayton Kershaw starting for the Dodgers.
Wrigley Field shaken to its foundation when grand slam sends Cubs to victory over Dodgers
The ballpark started to shake before the ball landed, the ground growing less firm as the grand slam descended into a delirious throng in the right-field bleachers. When the ball disappeared from sight, a few rows shy of Sheffield Avenue,Wrigley Field reverberated like a venue shaking off 108 years of futility.
The Dodgers had hung around for eight innings, sneaking enough uppercuts to tie the score of this baseball game. The Cubs responded with a haymaker in the bottom of the eighth, a seismic shot from backup catcher Miguel Montero that broke the deadlock and bloodied the nose of the Dodgers in an 8-4 loss in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
Montero punished Joe Blanton for a hanging slider, erasing whatever momentum was created by the Dodgers in the top of the frame. Manager Dave Roberts gambled on Blanton, issuing a pair of intentional walks to force the Cubs to remove closer Aroldis Chapman. The moves brought Montero to the plate.
Not since 1908 have these Cubs won a World Series. Not since 1907 has a Cub stolen home in a playoff game. The next two weeks will determine if the first streak will end. But second baseman Javier Baez ended the second streak in the bottom of the second inning.
Cubs defeat Dodgers, 8-4, in Game 1 of the NLCS
TOP OF NINTH: CUBS 8, DODGERS 4
The Dodgers lost Game 1 of the 2016 NLCS. Enrique Hernandez grounded out, Joc Pederson singled and scored on an Andrew Toles double, but Toles was doubled off second on a Chase Utley line drive against Cubs set-up man Hector Rondon in the top of the ninth to finish it off. The Dodgers chased the Cubs all game long. When they finally caught up, Chicago came right back to push ahead.
Clayton Kershaw faces Kyle Hendricks at the same time tomorrow in Game 2.
Cubs lead Dodgers 8-3 after eight innings
BOTTOM OF EIGHTH: CUBS 8, DODGERS 3
It all unraveled for the Dodgers.
Ben Zobrist rapped reliever Joe Blanton’s third pitch into the right-center gap. Because of its direction and its pace, Zobrist seemed bound for third, but Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson managed to stop the baseball before it reached the ivy. Zobrist stayed at second base.
Blanton followed by staking Addison Russell to a 3-and-0 count, but rebounded to retire him on a groundout. He then intentionally walked Jason Heyward to face Javier Baez with one out and two men on.
Baez popped out to right field on the first pitch he saw. Next, Chris Coghlan pinch-hit for David Ross, and the Dodgers elected to intentionally walk him, too, forcing the Cubs to remove Aroldis Chapman from the game.
As Hector Rondon warmed in Chicago’s bullpen, Miguel Montero pinch-hit for Chapman and launched a grand slam on an 0-2 slider. Dexter Fowler followed with a solo homer. The Dodgers trail, 8-3, with just three outs to go.
Cubs increase lead to 8-3 after Dexter Fowler’s homer
Cubs take 7-3 lead on grand slam by Miguel Montero
Dodgers and Cubs are tied, 3-3, heading to bottom of eighth
TOP OF EIGHTH: DODGERS 3, CUBS 3
Andrew Toles, pinch-hitting for Ross Stripling against left-hander Mike Montgomery, snuck a ball through the shortstop hole for a single. Chase Utley, pinch-hitting for Howie Kendrick against right-hander Pedro Strop, walked. Justin Turner then grounded a ball to third base. Kris Bryant fielded it cleanly and tried to touch third base to record a force out, but Toles slid in first.
That loaded the bases without an out for Corey Seager. Joe Maddon brought in his closer, left-hander Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman pumped a 1-and-2, 102-mph fastball beyond Seager’s desperate swing. Strikeout. Chapman pumped an 0-and-2, 103-mph fastball beyond a Yasiel Puig swing. Strikeout. Chapman pumped a 1-and-1, 102-mph fastball into the strike zone to Adrian Gonzalez, and Gonzalez timed it just right, back up the middle for a two-run, game-tying single.
Yasmani Grandal grounded out, but this game is tied, 3-3, going into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Adrian Gonzalez drives in two with single, scored tied 3-3 in eighth
Dodgers load the bases with no outs in eighth; Aroldis Chapman coming in for Cubs
Cubs lead Dodgers 3-1 through seven innings
BOTTOM OF SEVENTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
Facing Dodgers long reliever Ross Stripling, Dexter Fowler flew out to short center field, Kris Bryant grounded out to shortstop Corey Seager, and Anthony Rizzo lined out to center field. The Dodgers head to the eighth inning needing to score two runs before they make six outs.
It’s time for the seventh-inning stretch
Dodgers strand on in the seventh, still trail Cubs 3-1
TOP OF SEVENTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
Cubs Manager Joe Maddon started piecing together his relief. Left-hander Travis Wood came in to face Adrian Gonzalez and retired him on a groundout. Right-hander Carl Edwards came in to face Carlos Ruiz, and Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts substituted Yasmani Grandal for the right-handed Ruiz. Grandal struck out.
Hernandez remained in the game against Edwards, Roberts opting not to pinch-hit Chase Utley for him, and worked a walk. Maddon brought in left-hander Mike Montgomery to face Joc Pederson. Pederson struck out on a curveball in the dirt. It’s time for the seventh-inning stretch here at Wrigley Field.
Cubs lead Dodgers 3-1 after six, but Jon Lester is out of the game
BOTTOM OF SIXTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
In for another inning, Pedro Baez induced a weak flyout from Jason Heyward to begin the frame, but Javier Baez doubled down the right-field line. Catcher David Ross struck out. No one was warming behind Baez in the Dodgers’ bullpen at first, but left-hander Luis Avilan quickly warmed for the second time in the game and was soon joined by right-hander Ross Stripling.
With two outs, the Cubs surprisingly pinch-hit Jorge Soler for Jon Lester, ending their pitcher’s night. Soler grounded out to short to end it as the Cubs remain ahead, 3-1.
Jon Lester is out of the game for Cubs
Dodgers retired in order in top of sixth, trail 3-1
TOP OF SIXTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
Justin Turner flew out to right, Corey Seager struck out, and Yasiel Puig grounded out to first. Cubs ace Jon Lester has thrown only 77 pitches through six innings and figures to remain in the game. He has issued one walk and struck out three Dodgers.
Dodgers fan strikes back after Chicago attacks L.A. with lame cliches
The Chicago Tribune, plumbing the depths of its Midwestern wisdom, has seen fit to publish a column denigrating Los Angeles.
Who is in charge of that operation?
Oh, wait a minute.
I guess the L.A. Times has the same owners.
Anyway, the column in question, published on the eve of the National League playoff series between the Dodgers and Cubs, contains lines like these:
“Known widely today as ‘The Birthplace of Cocaine,’ Los Angeles is a stunningly unfortunate city on the Pacific Ocean, located in a semi-arid region known as California’s Crotch.”
Here’s another gem:
“Though the city still struggles with whale carcasses, Los Angeles has become a favorite locale for people who enjoy smog and failure.”
Cubs lead Dodgers, 3-1, after five
BOTTOM OF FIFTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
Pedro Baez walked Kris Bryant, then struck out Anthony Rizzo. Ben Zobrist popped up to Justin Turner at third base. After an extended at-bat featuring four pickoff attempts, Baez struck out Addison Russell to end the inning.
Pretty as a picture
Slideshow: Photos from Game 1 of the NLCS
Dodgers close to 3-1 thanks to Ethier’s pinch-hit homer
TOP OF FIFTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 1
Enrique Hernandez lined out to shortstop to begin the inning, Joc Pederson continued it by unsuccessfully bunting for a base hit, and Andre Ethier homered just above the left-center ivy while pinch-hitting for Kenta Maeda. Ethier hammered a two-strike fastball out.
Howie Kendrick quickly followed by tapping out to shortstop. With 12 outs left to work with, the Dodgers trail by two runs, 3-1.
Right-hander Pedro Baez is going to enter for the bottom of the fifth inning.
Andre Ethier homers for Dodgers
Cubs remain in command over Dodgers through four innings
BOTTOM OF FOURTH: CUBS 3, DODGERS 0
Javier Baez shot a line drive out to left field for an out. David Ross popped out to second base for another. Jon Lester walked for the second time tonight, which prompted a mound visit from Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. Kenta Maeda then struck out Dexter Fowler to end the inning.
In four innings, Maeda has yielded four hits, three walks and three runs while striking out two.
Dexter Fowler’s great catch ends top of fourth
Yasiel Puig began by grounding out to third base. Adrian Gonzalez struck out. Carlos Ruiz laced one foul and then one fair to the left-center gap, somehow caught by Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler.
Jon Lester has traversed four innings still not scored upon. He has thrown 56 pitches
Thanks for the tip
Joe Buck just said the Cubs’ +252 run differential means “they scored more than they gave up.”
I am so glad he is here to explain things to us.
Pass the ear plugs
Cubs fans sure are making a lot of noise, It’s like they haven’t won anything in 100 years or something.
Cubs maintain 3-0 lead after three
BOTTOM OF THIRD: CUBS 3, DODGERS 0
Kenta Maeda struck out Anthony Rizzo to begin the inning, then walked Ben Zobrist. Addison Russell grounded into a double play, but replays showed he beat it out, and the call was quickly reversed. Up came Jason Heyward, who grounded the next pitch to second baseman Enrique Hernandez. Maeda is through three innings. Can he give the Dodgers one more inning, or even two?
Joe Buck loves the Cubs
I have no direct evidence, but I am pretty sure Joe Buck is secretly an employee of the Cubs. He has spent three innings talking about how great they are and how the Dodgers are just lucky to be breathing the same air.
Watch Javier Baez steal home
Dodgers go down quietly in top of third
TOP OF THIRD: CUBS 3, DODGERS 0
Howie Kendrick led off by flying out to center field. Justin Turner then shot one out to center, caught by Dexter Fowler. Corey Seager lined one to the right side, speared by Anthony Rizzo.
The Dodgers are putting the ball into play, often hard, but they have nothing to show for their efforts yet.
Cubs lead 3-0 after second inning
BOTTOM OF SECOND: CUBS 3, DODGERS 0
This place went nuts in between innings when actor Bill Murray was shown on the video board. As he recognized he was on, he chugged the remaining third of his beer. The enjoyment continued into the bottom of the second inning, as Jason Heyward led off with a triple. Javier Baez then plopped a baseball into short left field, in between a host of Dodger defenders. The infield had just come in because Baez was in a two-strike situation. Heyward scored easily, and Baez took second base.
Catcher David Ross, a long-ago Dodger, followed by flying out to center field, and pitcher Jon Lester walked. While he was up, a Kenta Maeda breaking ball got away from catcher Carlos Ruiz, and Baez took third. He then stole home for the Cubs’ third run of this game, the crowd then chanting his name afterward.
Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant popped out to end the inning, but Chicago leads, 3-0.
Baez steals home, Cubs lead 3-0
Cubs take 2-0 lead in second inning
That’s the long and slow of it
A couple of thoughts:
Joc Pederson’s swing is longer than the Great Wall of China.
Adrian Gonzalez needs to stop carrying that piano.
Adrian Gonzalez thrown out at home, Dodgers trail, 1-0, after top of second
TOP OF SECOND: CUBS 1, DODGERS 0
Adrian Gonzalez began the inning by pulling a ball through the shift-shortened hole between the Cubs’ first and second basemen. He reached first. Next, Carlos Ruiz ripped a fastball 103 mph but directly to Kris Bryant at third base for a lineout.
Enrique Hernandez, in his first plate appearance since Oct. 2, followed by working a walk. As the fans at Wrigley Field stood to support Jon Lester, Joc Pederson struck out. Pitcher Kenta Maeda singled through to left field, but Gonzalez was thrown out easily at home while running from second. He did not attempt a slide. The half-inning’s over, and the Cubs still lead, 1-0.
Cubs lead 1-0 after one
BOTTOM OF FIRST: CUBS 1, DODGERS 0
Dexter Fowler laced Kenta Maeda’s piped 1-and-2 fastball into center for a leadoff single. Following, Kris Bryant hammered a slider into the left-field ivy, just beyond the reach of Howie Kendrick. The Cubs scored their first run before they made an out.
Anthony Rizzo flew out to left field for his club’s first out. Ben Zobrist lined out to left field. Addison Russell tapped one back to Maeda, who escaped the inning with just the one run to his name.
Someone please get Joe Buck a dictionary
Joe Buck just said “The Dodgers are a team with a lot of grit, whatever that means.”
Then why say it?
And I am so glad Harold Reynolds isn’t in the booth.
Cubs take 1-0 lead
Kris Bryant just doubled over Howie Kendrick’s head in left to score Dexter Fowler. It was a catchable ball if an experienced left fielder was out there.
Dodgers waste two-out single, don’t score in top of first
TOP OF FIRST: DODGERS 0, CUBS 0
Jon Lester’s first pitch of the National League championship series to Dodgers leadoff hitter Howie Kendrick was a strike. Kendrick tried to bunt the second pitch for a base hit and missed. He then battled Lester to seven pitches before grounding out to third.
Justin Turner, up next, grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch he saw. Corey Seager swung at the first pitch he saw, too, and singled up the middle. Then came Yasiel Puig, who grounded out on the second pitch he saw to end the inning. Lester threw only 11 pitches.
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts knew he wanted to start Kendrick tonight, but he didn’t know at what position between second base and left field, so he texted Kendrick this morning asking. The player said left field, so he is playing left field. Enrique Hernandez is starting at second base after being off the NLDS roster.
Plaschke: No Utley?
Clayton Kershaw is healthy and ready for Game 2
Clayton Kershaw says he feels fine. He says he has no restrictions after willing theDodgers into the National League championship series. And so the team will start him in its second game against the Chicago Cubs, to be played Sunday atWrigley Field at 5 p.m. PDT.
Manager Dave Roberts said the decision was a “no-brainer.”
Kershaw last started Tuesday in Los Angeles, on short rest in Game 4 of the NLDS, but pitched in relief to close out the fifth and deciding game of that series Thursday in Washington. His seven-pitch appearance came on a standard side-session day, Kershaw argued to the team, so he was fit to start again on his normal five-day routine.
“The intensity might have been just a hair different,” he said Saturday.
Why are they bothering to even show it?
According to the FS1 pre-game “analysts”, the Cubs are the greatest team since the history of creation and the Dodgers have, or any team of mere mortals, have no chance against them. But my question is this: Who did Pete Rose bet on?
Frank Thomas has problems with math
Frank Thomas on FS1 just said the Dodgers will have to beat Jon Lester twice if they want to win the series. Actually Frank, they just have to beat him once.
Dodgers add Hernandez and Wood, subtract Barnes and Culberson from NLCS roster
The Dodgers made two alterations to their 25-man roster for the National League Championship Series against the Cubs, adding utility man Enrique Hernandezand pitcher Alex Wood, while removing infielder Charlie Culberson and catcherAustin Barnes.
Hernandez joins the club because, in years before 2016, he hit well against left-handed pitchers. Hernandez is expected to start on Saturday in Game 1 against Jon Lester. Hernandez hit a home run off Lester earlier this season.
The Dodgers carried 12 pitchers during the five-game divisional series against Washington. But now playing a seven-game format, the team felt it needed to add another arm to the mix. That is Wood, who pitched well during a relief audition in September. He missed most of the summer because of elbow surgery.
Barnes played a pivotal role in the Game 5 victory over Washington, scoring from second base as a pinch runner for Yasmani Grandal. The Dodgers used Barnes as insurance if they wanted to send Carlos Ruiz into pinch-hitting situations. Ruiz provided two crucial hits against the Nationals.
Dodgers’ Game 1 lineup
Cubs’ Game 1 lineup
Kenta Maeda set to pitch Game 1, with Clayton Kershaw probably on deck for Game 2
Greetings from Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Dodgers will face the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday.
Clayton Kershaw reached into his glove and rocked off the bullpen mound. His hand held merely air as he pantomimed his delivery at Wrigley Field.
There was no ball. There was no catcher. There was only a pitcher trying to return to routine during a Dodgers postseason that has wrenched his schedule from alignment.
After Kershaw completed his drills, he ambled behind the batting cage and crossed paths with teammate Kenley Jansen. The duo collected the final nine outs in Game 5 of the National League division series on Thursday — seven from Jansen, two from Kershaw — to set a date with the Cubs in the NL Championship Series.
Jansen also sought normalcy.
Dodgers face a familiar weakness: A left-handed starter
The Chicago Cubs’ Game 1 starter in the National League Championship Series will be left-hander Jon Lester. Their closer, potentially to be deployed in roles beyond that of a typical ninth-inning specialist, will be left-hander Aroldis Chapman. But, in between, the Dodgers will see few pitchers of the type that so often stymied them this season.
The club has reached Major League Baseball’s semifinals despite a significant flaw, one that surfaced again in the five-game National League division series against Washington. The Dodgers faced Nationals left-handers in 60 plate appearances and notched just three extra-base hits, all against Game 3 starter Gio Gonzalez, and a .157 batting average in all. They got on base at a .283 clip and slugged .254, for a .537 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage.
Those statistics are even worse than the league-worst numbers logged by the Dodgers during the regular season, when they hit .213 with a .622 OPS against left-handers. And so Manager Dave Roberts will continue to stack his lineup with as much right-handed hitting as he can.
Who else is sick of the Cubs and their long-suffering narrative?
This is a confession I make carefully, knowing it could result in bleacher tourists showering me with bad beer, or teary eyed bandwagoners shouting at me during the overworked seventh-inning songfest, or somebody throwing a plasma TV at me from an expensive seat on an ugly roof.
But somebody has to say it.
I am sick of the Chicago Cubs.
I am sick of how their long-suffering narrative has hijacked this baseball postseason, dominating the airwaves, controlling baseball’s decision makers, turning October into one long “Cubbies Forever” Lifetime flick.