PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* Sunday Night SHOWDOWN >> $19K MLB Run! 46-25-1 L72!
(MLB) LA Dodgers vs. Chi Cubs,
Money Line: -121.00 LA Dodgers (Away)
Result: Win
Money Line: -121.00 LA Dodgers (Away)
Result: Win
The set-up: The Cubs finished off the Giants with a stunning four-run rally in the 9th inning back in Game 4 of that NLDS matchup, closing out the series with a 6-5 win. Up next for MLB's best team during the 2016 regular season were the Dodgers in the NLCS. A sold-out Wrigley Field crowd saw the Cubs open a 3-1 led over LA in Game 1 behind six strong innings from Jon Lester. However, Chicago's bullpen allowed two runs in the 8th, as the Dodgers tied the game. Then in the bottom of that same inning, Miguel Montero hit a pinch-hit grand slam! The Cubs pulled out 14 of their major league-best 103 wins this season in their final at-bat. They added two more in their NLDS against the Giants and now, this.
The pitching matchup: Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 5.84 ERA) will take the mound for LA and Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 4.91 ERA) for Chicago. Kershaw has a checkered postseason history but he won Game 1 of the NLDS, then started Game 4 on short rest and came in to close Game 5 with a seven-pitch save against the Washington Nationals. Three nights later, the three-time Cy Young winner gets the ball in Game 2 of the NLCS in Wrigley. He owns a 5-3 career record with a 2.14 ERA against the Cubs but he did not face them in 2016. Hendricks was hit in the right forearm by a comeback line drive in Game 2 of the NLDS, forcing him to exit in the fourth inning (gave up two runs on four hits over 3 2/3 innings) against San Francisco. Hendricks (16-8, 2.13 ERA) matured by leaps and bounds in 2016, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to lead the majors in ERA since Bill Lee (2.66 ERA) in 1938. He had a 1.68 ERA after the All-Star break and went 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 games (14 starts / Cubs were 10-4) at Wrigley Field. His home ERA was the lowest for any pitcher in MLB. He has shown no ill effects from the comebacker and is good to go.
The pick: We don't know how the game against the Giants would have gone had Hendicks had not been forced to leave but we do know that in the first two playoff starts of his career in 2015, he was unable to last five innings in either, finishing without a decision after surrendering five ERs on nine hits (four HRs) over 8 2/3 innings in outings at St. Louis in the NLDS and against the New York Mets in the NLCS. He'll take a 5.11 postseason ERA into this start. As for Kershaw, for all the accolades heaped on him after his Game 5 save, let me note that he allowed 15 hits and eight ERs for a 5.84 ERA against Washington, as the Nats hit .294 against him in the NLDS. Then again, there is the feeling that Kershaw found his mojo in that save. The test will be here. Kershaw argues he's relatively fresh, having pitched just 149 innings in the regular season and didn't start a game between June 26 and September 9, when he returned from a layoff prompted by a herniated disk in his back to face the Miami Marlins. Kershaw was 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA in the regular season and gave up more than three runs just twice in 21 starts (team was 17-4). It's now or never for Kershaw and the Dodgers and my bet says it's N-O-W! The Dodgers are a 10* play.
The pitching matchup: Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 5.84 ERA) will take the mound for LA and Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 4.91 ERA) for Chicago. Kershaw has a checkered postseason history but he won Game 1 of the NLDS, then started Game 4 on short rest and came in to close Game 5 with a seven-pitch save against the Washington Nationals. Three nights later, the three-time Cy Young winner gets the ball in Game 2 of the NLCS in Wrigley. He owns a 5-3 career record with a 2.14 ERA against the Cubs but he did not face them in 2016. Hendricks was hit in the right forearm by a comeback line drive in Game 2 of the NLDS, forcing him to exit in the fourth inning (gave up two runs on four hits over 3 2/3 innings) against San Francisco. Hendricks (16-8, 2.13 ERA) matured by leaps and bounds in 2016, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to lead the majors in ERA since Bill Lee (2.66 ERA) in 1938. He had a 1.68 ERA after the All-Star break and went 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 games (14 starts / Cubs were 10-4) at Wrigley Field. His home ERA was the lowest for any pitcher in MLB. He has shown no ill effects from the comebacker and is good to go.
The pick: We don't know how the game against the Giants would have gone had Hendicks had not been forced to leave but we do know that in the first two playoff starts of his career in 2015, he was unable to last five innings in either, finishing without a decision after surrendering five ERs on nine hits (four HRs) over 8 2/3 innings in outings at St. Louis in the NLDS and against the New York Mets in the NLCS. He'll take a 5.11 postseason ERA into this start. As for Kershaw, for all the accolades heaped on him after his Game 5 save, let me note that he allowed 15 hits and eight ERs for a 5.84 ERA against Washington, as the Nats hit .294 against him in the NLDS. Then again, there is the feeling that Kershaw found his mojo in that save. The test will be here. Kershaw argues he's relatively fresh, having pitched just 149 innings in the regular season and didn't start a game between June 26 and September 9, when he returned from a layoff prompted by a herniated disk in his back to face the Miami Marlins. Kershaw was 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA in the regular season and gave up more than three runs just twice in 21 starts (team was 17-4). It's now or never for Kershaw and the Dodgers and my bet says it's N-O-W! The Dodgers are a 10* play.
