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Cubs look to advance to World Series Saturday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 10/21/2016  at  11:21:00 AM
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LOS ANGELES DODGERS (96-76)

at CHICAGO CUBS (109-61)

First pitch: Saturday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -135, Chicago +125, Total: N/A

The Cubs will be looking to win their first National League pennant since 1945 on Saturday.

The Dodgers seemingly had complete control of this series, as they had a 2-1 series lead with two games left to play in Los Angeles. The Cubs, however, showed a ton of fight these past two games and are now just one win away from getting to the World Series. Chicago’s offense has delivered back-to-back games with 13 hits and the team averaged 9.0 runs per game in those contests. The Cubs will need to keep it going heading into Saturday’s contest, but it won’t be easy. LHP Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.72 ERA, 25 K in postseason) is going to be on the mound for Los Angeles and the Dodgers have won each game in which the lefty has touched the ball this postseason. The Cubs will counter with RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 5 K in postseason), who was 16-8 with a remarkable 2.13 ERA in the regular seasons. Hendricks has not pitched to his fullest capabilities in the playoffs, but Chicago is hoping he finds his best stuff in this one. It’s worth noting that Los Angeles is a perfect 11-0 against the money line after two straight losses by four or more runs over the past three seasons.

The Dodgers are facing elimination, but they’ll be happy to have Kershaw out there attempting to keep their season alive. The ace was absolutely brilliant in his only other start in this series, as he pitched seven innings of shutout baseball. Kershaw struck out six batters in that game and gave up only two hits. He should be able to put forth a similar effort in this one, as the Cubs are lousy against lefties and really struggled to make contact on Kershaw’s curveball the last time out. Offensively, 3B Justin Turner (.313, 2 HR, 8 RBI in postseason) and 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.211, 2 HR, 6 RBI in postseason) are going to need to come through in this game. The two of them have had some success against Hendricks in their careers, combining to hit two homers with four RBI against the righty. Turner has been on a tear in the postseason and should be able to stay locked in for this one. Gonzalez, however, has struggled over the past few games, but he’ll be happy to be going up against a right-handed pitcher after struggling to hit the left-handed Lester on Thursday.

The Cubs will be hoping to wrap this series up on Saturday, as they do not want to deal with the stress and pressures of a Game 7. Kyle Hendricks is going to be on the mound for Chicago, and the team will be hoping that he can recapture the magic he had during the regular season. In Hendricks’ only other outing in this series, he pitched 5.1 innings and allowed one earned run. He struck out five batters in that game, but did walk four. He’ll need to find his control in this one or it’ll surely be going to a Game 7. Offensively, two guys to look out for in this game are OF Dexter Fowler (.237, 1 HR, 3 RBI in postseason) and 1B Anthony Rizzo (.194, 1 HR, 4 RBI). Fowler isn’t one of the more dangerous bats in this lineup, but he does have a history of success against Kershaw. In his career versus the lefty, Fowler is 18-for-44 with two doubles, a triple and an RBI. It would be big for Chicago if he can provide a spark and get on base in this one. Rizzo, meanwhile, is as hot as could be at the moment. Over the past two games, the superstar is 5-for-10 with a double, a homer and four RBI. He’ll be hoping to stay and help deliver a win on Saturday.


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