Chicago forces Game Five

Chicago second-sacker Javier Baez hit two good pitches for home runs off of Alex Wood, catcher Willson Contreras added a third and Jake Arrieta pitched a strong game as the Cubs downed the Dodgers 3-2 last night to live another day in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers, up 3-1 in the series, got solo homers from Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner but fell a run short in their attempt to sweep the reigning World Series champions.

The Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound tonight in a matchup against Chicago's Jose Quintana, who pitched well in Game One.

Cubs closer Wade Davis held the Dodgers to one run in a six-out save last night but threw 48 pitches in the two innings to hold off Los Angeles. The Cubs say Davis, who had a seven-out save against Washington in the NLDS, will not be available tonight, putting more pressure on a fragile Chicago bullpen.

Wood, who hadn't pitched since September, gave up three homers but actually pitched pretty well. Contreras' blast was a no-doubter but credit Baez with taking two out-of-the-zone pitches off his shoe tops and driving them into the bleachers.

If the Dodgers cannot close out the Cubs tonight at Wrigley they will have two chances to get to the World Series in Games Six and Seven in Los Angeles, if necessary.

Dodgers edge ever closer to World Series

Yu Darvish pitched 6.1 innings of dominant ball, Chris Taylor homered and tripled for a pair of RBI and Andre Ethier made an appearance with a second inning jack to right field as the Dodgers downed the Cubs 6-1 last night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NLCS and bring anguish to Wrigleyville.

The Dodgers are now a win away from returning to the World Series for the first time since 1988 and they are doing it with a flourish.

The Dodgers have won six games in a row in the playoffs with a three-game sweep of Arizona in the NLDS preceeding their strong start against the defending champions.

Los Angeles has two tries to clinch tonight and tomorrow night in Chicago or face a return to L.A. with the Cubs now facing elimination in every game.

The Dodgers will send southpaw Alex Wood (16-3, 2.72 ERA) to the hill against Chicago's Jake Arrieta (14-10, 3.53 ERA) for Game Four.

The Dodgers used the same script as in the previous wins against the Cubs: strong starting pitching, timely hitting and a bullpen that doesn't give up much.

Tony Watson and Brandon Morrow pitched in the seventh and eighth innings before Ross Stripling came in for the ninth. Stripling surrendered two hits, the first off L.A. relievers in the series, so Dave Roberts called on Kenley Jansen to shut down the Cubs, which he did, getting Addison Russell to pop out and Tommy LaStella and Ian Happ on strikes to end the game.

Darvish, now 2-0 in the playoffs, is proving his trading deadline acquisition was a smart move. Darvish is 5-0 in his last five starts with an impressive 0.88 ERA.

Dodgers stun Cubs for 2-0 series lead

Justin Turner's three-run walk off homer to center field in the bottom of the ninth inning tonight gave the Dodgers a 4-1 victory over the Cubs and a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

The series now moves to Chicago for games three through five under the 2-3-2 playoff format.

Rich Hill went five innings in a matchup with Chicago ace Jon Lester that turned into a pitcher's duel knotted at 1-1 in the ninth before Turner deposited a John Lackey breaking ball into the center field bleachers.

A weakness in year's past, the Dodger bullpen has emerged as one of the team's strengths as Brandon Morrow, Josh Fields, Tony Watson and Kenley Jansen combined for four innings of no-hit ball to secure the win.

Tonight's drama filled victory came on the heel's of Saturday's 5-2 win over the Cubs that featured four innings of no-hit ball from relievers Tony Cingrani, Kenta Maeda, Morrow, Tony Watson and Jansen after Kershaw went five innings.

Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor and Justin Turner were the offensive heroes on Saturday with Puig and Taylor going yard and tonight it was Turner knocking in the tying run in the fifth inning with an opposite field single to right before his ninth inning game-ender.

Shortstop Charlie Culberson, filling in for the injured Corey Seager, had a key sac fly in last night's game and had a pair of hits tonight, including a crucial double in the gap to left center which eventually turned into a Dodger run on Turner's single.

Culberson spent most of the season in Oklahoma City but is making the most of his sudden roster call for the playoffs.

Hill and Lester pitched to a standoff tonight but the Dodger bullpen that was better than Chicago's for the second straight night.

The Dodgers will send Yu Darvish to the hill on Tuesday to face Chicago's Kyle Hendricks in a must-win game for the Cubs.

Dodgers get a rematch with Cubs

After a wild 9-8 win over the Nationals in Washington late last night, the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs are headed to Los Angeles for a rematch of the 2016 National League Championship Series starting tomorrow night in Chavez Ravine.

The Cubbies dispatched the Dodgers in six games a year ago but  the script has been flipped. This year the Dodgers hold the home field advantage and came into the playoffs with the best record in baseball.

As a Dodger fan, I was pulling for the Cubs to advance because I would rather see the Dodgers face off against Cubs pitchers John Lester (13-8), John Lackey (12-12), Jose Quintana (7-3) and Kyle Hendricks (7-5) than Washington's Max Scherzer (16-6), Steven Strasburg (15-4), Gio Gonzalez (15-9) and Tanner Roark (13-11).

The Nationals pitching kept the Cubs bats in check until last night's offensive explosion.

Not to suggest the Cubs will be an easy task. But I think last year's team was on a historical mission while this year's version is trying to make it two in a row -- not an easy thing to do.

The 2017 Dodgers are new and improved from the 2016 version. Here's why:

• Yu Darvish (4-3), Rich Hill (12-8) and Alex Wood (16-3) join Clayton Kershaw (18-4) in a much deeper starting pitching rotation. 
• Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen are tough to beat in the eighth and ninth innings and late season acquisitions Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani provide left-handed spot relief.
• Kenta Maeda's proving to be a beast in middle relief.
• Cody Bellinger is a threat, Justin Turner is solid, Corey Seager is a year older and wiser, Chris Taylor is a true lead-off hitter, Yasiel Puig is maturing, Austin Barnes can rake and catch, Logan Forsythe provides a strong right-handed bat, Curtis Granderson can be streaky hot and Dave Roberts has plenty of options off the bench with Chase Utley, Yasmani Grandal, Andre Ethier and Kiki Hernandez ready to contribute.

The window of opportunity is there for the Dodgers this year. The rotation is set, the home crowd is juiced and the Cubs come into LA after a tough series with the Nats while the Dodgers have been resting after sweeping Arizona.

It's time for Dodger baseball.

Boys of Summer are back

Going into the National League Division Series against Arizona, the Dodger faithful wondered which version of the team would show up in the playoffs -- the team that owned the summer and built a 20-game lead in the standings -- or the team that limped to the finish line playing .500 ball in August and September?

Thankfully, it was the former.

The Dodgers rolled through the D-Backs in a three-game sweep and now wait for the outcome of the Cubs-Nationals series for their Saturday opponent.

The NLDS win over Arizona showcased the depth Los Angeles enjoys. Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Yu Darvish started the three games but it was the bullpen that sparkled. Kenta Maeda bolstered the pen with his presence as a middle reliever and Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen are now solidified in the setup and closer roles. Alex Wood was slated to start Game Four but was not needed.

Other Dodgers have emerged. Yasiel Puig is starting to fulfill the potential we saw as a rookie. Austin Barnes is forcing Roberts to start him over Yasmani Grandal at catcher. Justin Turner is a pure hitter and his .377 career batting average in the playoffs in ridiculous.

Chris Taylor now owns the leadoff spot and plays a decent centerfield. Corey Seager is the real deal at short and at the plate and Logan Forsythe is showing why the Dodgers went out and got him to play second base and provide some pop from the right side.

Then there's Cody Bellinger. The rookie was quiet the first two games but broke out with a dinger and several stellar defensive plays in the 3-1 series clincher.

The Dodgers looked more like the Boys of Summer this weekend than the sluggish team of August and September.

That may not bode well for Chicago or Washington in the NLCS.

Will elusive Big Mo return to LA?

All sports fans will tell you that momentum is everything.

Sometimes momentum shifts on a single play, a single pitch, a single diving catch in the outfield.

We often hear professional athletes say that their sport is as psychological as it is physical.

The 2017 season has been a roller coaster for the Dodgers. A roller coaster that started slowly with a 14-13 record in April and improved to a 19-9 mark in May.

Over the summer, the Dodgers heated up, going on ridiculous winning streaks, posting a 21-7 record in June and 20-3 mark in July.

Things were rolling along until late August when the Dodgers hit the wall. They lost 11 in a row but more importantly the mojo that allowed them to own the league for months evaporated as they slowed to 17-10 in August and a dismal 13-17 record in September, salvaged by winning eight of the last 10 games to end the season.

Arizona, which knocked off Colorado 11-8 in a Wild Card slugfest, will be the first round opponent for Los Angeles.

On paper, the Dodgers have the edge. Arizona starters Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray were both used in the Wild Card game against the Rockies, meaning the Diamondbacks will start the series with their No. 3 starter, Tajuan Walker, who posted a 9-9 record and 3.49 ERA.

Walker will match up against Clayton Kershaw and his 18-4 record and 2.31 ERA.

But if other MLB playoff games are any indications, starting pitchers are fair game in 2017. Greinke, Boston's Chris Sale, New York's Luis Severino and Colorado's Jon Gray all made early exits in their 2017 playoff debuts with their teams having to go heavy into the bullpens.

The big question for Los Angeles and skipper Dave Roberts is can his squad recapture the magic of May, June and July and somehow erase the mediocrity of August and September when the club struggled to a  30-27 record?

Tonight we get a glimpse of what the answer will be.

Dodgers stop the bleeding in Frisco

If back in March, when the Dodgers were stretching out in Glendale, Arizona, someone had told me the Dodgers would have a 10-game lead in the NL West on Sept. 13 and have the best record in baseball I would have been giddy.

All that is true, yet, there is fear and doubt in Dodgerville.

LA snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 5-3 decision over the Giants last night but the Dodgers are still reeling over the last three weeks with only 13 games left on the schedule.

The question now is which Dodgers will show up in the playoffs? The team that owned baseball all summer or the team that has stumbled through the past three weeks?

The Dodgers were the hottest team in baseball up until the bottom fell out.

In a flash, the team that couldn't do wrong couldn't do anything right.

Starting pitching fell apart, hot bats went silent, and the middle of the bullpen suddenly started pitching like it was batting practice.

After building an obscene 20-game lead in the NL West, Milwaukee went into LA and took two of three from the Dodgers.

That started the slide. The Dodgers went to Arizona and were swept by the Diamondbacks, losing 7-6, 6-4 and 8-1.

Los Angeles opened September with a 1-0 win over the Padres as Clayton Kershaw returned from the DL. The Dodgers then lost three in a row to the Padres and three more to Arizona back in Chavez Ravine.

Colorado was next, taking four in a row at Dodger Stadium Sept. 7-10 and Los Angeles was mired in a 10-game losing streak.

The Dodgers went to San Francisco on Monday and the streak grew to 11 games in an 8-6 Giants win.

LA ended the streak last night with a 5-3 win over the Giants powered by Kershaw's pitching, a splasher into McCovey Cove by Chase Utley, a two-run double by Yasiel Puig and some sparkling defense by Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger.

But can they regain the magic?

Yu Darvish takes the hill tonight and it's getting more and more urgent for a pitcher other than Kershaw to have a good outing.

As it stands now, the Dodgers will face Wild Card Arizona in the first round of the playoffs -- a Diamondbacks team that has beaten the Dodgers the last six times they have played. Should LA get past Arizona, they would face either Washington or Chicago, both teams playing better baseball than Los Angeles.

In a sport where momentum is everything the Dodgers are still looking for it.