After winning their respective National League Division Series matchups, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs square off in the 2016 NL Championship Series beginning Saturday at 5:08 p.m. PT.
Games 1 and 2 will be played at Wrigley Field, with the series shifting to Dodger Stadium for Games 3 and 4, and 5 (if necessary). The Cubs enter the series well rested, as they defeated the San Francisco Giants in four games to advance.
The Dodgers are on the opposite end of the spectrum as they’re coming off a victory in Game 5 over the Washington Nationals on Thursday night in which closer Kenley Jansen threw a career-high 51 pitches and Clayton Kershaw got the last two outs out of the bullpen just two days after throwing 110 pitches on three days of rest in Game 4.
The Cubs were the best team in baseball this season, going 103-58, to win a second straight NL Central title. The Dodgers finished the year with a 91-71 mark, good for a fourth consecutive NL West title
The two teams met seven times during the regular season, with the Cubs winning four of those matchups.
- Series at Wrigley Field
May 30: Cubs 2, Dodgers 0
In the first matchup of the season left-handers Alex Wood and Jason Hammel got the start on the mound for the Dodgers and Cubs, respectively.
Hammel left the game after just two innings with an injury, but southapw Travis Wood turned in four scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Cubs.
Alex Wood cruised through the first four innings of the game, striking out five without allowing a run. The Cubs got to him in the fifth though, as Ben Zobrist led off the bottom of the inning with a single and advanced all the way to third on an error by Yasiel Puig.
After Jason Heyward reached on an infield single to score Zobrist, Wood struck out Kris Bryant. He could not escape without more damage, however, as he gave up an RBI double to Anthony Rizzo.
The Cubs bullpen shut the Dodgers down, combining for seven perfect innings.
May 31: Dodgers 5, Cubs 0
In a rather unexpected turn of events, Scott Kazmir went toe-to-toe with Jake Arrieta. Kazmir threw one of his best games of the season, giving up just one hit and one walk in six scoreless innings while striking out seven.
Arrieta matched him pitch for pitch, as allowed just two hits and four walks while striking out eight in seven shutout innings. The Dodgers this time managed to get to the Cubs’ bullpen, with Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick combining to drive in two runs in the eighth inning.
Corey Seager padded the Dodgers’ lead with a three-run homer in the ninth. Joe Blanton threw two shutout innings out of the bullpen for the Dodgers, striking out three.
June 1: Cubs 2, Dodgers 1
In another low-scoring game, the Dodgers scratched against Cubs starter Jon Lester early as Kiké Hernandez hit a solo home run in the first inning.
The Cubs answered back in the third behind Bryant’s two-run home run, and that was all Lester needed. He tossed 113 pitches in a complete game, holding the Dodgers to four hits and collecting 10 strikeouts.
The Dodgers get another shot at Lester as he starts Saturday in Game 1 of the NLCS.
June 2: Cubs 7, Dodgers 2
Although the Dodgers intended to stash Julio Urias in the Minors after he made his Major League debut the week prior, an injury to Wood forced the Dodgers to recall their young left-hander from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Urias was hurt by a combination of soft contact and the long ball. Javier Baez, Heyward and Bryant each slugged a home run off Urias. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits in five innings.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks gave up just three hits and two runs in eight innings, and the Cubs took the home series.
Aug. 26: Cubs 6, Dodgers 4
When the series at Dodger Stadium was played both teams closer resembled what they are now.
Bud Norris got the start for the Dodgers and pitched well enough to win as he gave up three hits and two runs in five innings of work. He exited with a 3-2 lead. A seventh-inning home run by Adrian Gonzalez gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead, but the bullpen was not able to hold onto that.
Blanton gave up a home run in the eighth inning to Bryant, and Jansen blew a save opportunity in the ninth. In his first time catching Jansen, Carlos Ruiz allowed a ball to get past him and the tying run from third base to score.
Bryant then hit another home run in the 10th, a two-run shot off Adam Liberatore, lifting the Cubs to a 6-4 victory.
Ruiz said after the game he would focus on building a rapport with his teammates, and Jansen took blame for the miscue.
Aug. 27: Dodgers 3, Cubs 2
Urias got a second chance against the Cubs, and this time he delivered a better start. Urias held Chicago to one run and had eight strikeouts in six innings.
Seager homered in the first inning, and the Dodgers got two more in the third inning off Hammel behind RBI singles from Chase Utley and Justin Turner.
The Dodgers bullpen gave up just one run in three innings, and Jansen redeemed himself by throwing a perfect ninth inning, striking out two. The win snapped the Dodgers’ three-game losing streak to the Cubs.
Aug. 28: Dodgers 1, Cubs 0
The final meeting between the two teams in the regular season was another pitchers’ duel. Lester was masterful again, throwing six shutout innings and striking out six.
That gave him 14 consecutive scoreless innings against the Dodgers since Hernandez’s home run in the first on June 1. Rookie Brock Stewart matched Lester, giving up just two hits and striking out eight in five shutout innings.
The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Gonzalez hit a routine ground ball to Baez at third base.
Instead of throwing the ball to first base to get Gonzalez out, Baez tried to go the short way — to second. Because of a shift, Zobrist was late covering the bag, and Seager beat him there, leaving everyone safe on the play.
Jansen threw another perfect inning and the Dodgers escaped with a victory.
