Dodgers-Cubs NLCS preview: Start times, how to watch, predictions, things to know
The Dodgers haven't won the World Series since 1988, which is 80 years more recently than the Cubs
By
Matt Snyder
•
8 min read
An all-blue National League Championship Series was set after the Dodgers dispatched of the Nationals in dramatic fashion on Thursday night. It'll be the Dodgers taking on the Cubs for a chance to move to the World Series. The Dodgers haven't been there since 1988, but for the Cubs it's been since 1945 (and we all know by now when the last time was that they won it, right?).
The Cubs took out the Giants in four games after pacing the majors easily with 103 regular-season wins. The Dodgers beat the Nats in five after winning their fourth straight NL West title.
The Cubs have actually been to this point more recently than the Dodgers. It's the second straight NLCS for the Cubs while the Dodgers were last this far in 2013.
Here's the schedule and other pertinent details for the NLCS, at least what we know of it.
(All times are Eastern)
| Date | Time | Venue | Starting Pitchers | TV | Streaming | |
| Game 1 | Sat., Oct. 15 | 8 p.m. | Wrigley Field | TBA vs. Jon Lester | FS1 | FSGo, MLB.tv |
| Game 2 | Sun., Oct. 16 | 8 p.m. | Wrigley Field | TBA vs. Kyle Hendricks | FS1 | |
| Game 3 | Tues., Oct. 18 | 8 p.m. | Dodger Stadium | TBA vs. Jake Arrieta | FS1 | |
| Game 4 | Weds., Oct. 19 | 8 p.m. | Dodger Stadium | TBA vs. John Lackey | FS1 | |
| Game 5* | Thurs., Oct. 20 | 8 p.m. | Dodger Stadium | TBA | FS1 | |
| Game 6* | Sat., Oct. 22 | TBA | Wrigley Field | TBA | FS1 | |
| Game 7* | Sun., Oct. 23 | 8 p.m. | Wrigley Field | TBA | FS1 |
* if necessary
In terms of playoff history, the Dodgers took down the Cubs in the 2008 NLDS in a sweep after the Cubs led the NL with 97 wins that season. That doesn't have any relevance here considering that the teams are totally different now (Clayton Kershaw was on that Dodgers team but didn't see action in the series), it's just a tidbit. Aside from that, there's no playoff history between the two ballclubs.
Home field benefits the Cubs
By virtue of their gaudy regular-season win total, the Cubs get Games 1 and 2 and possibly 6 and 7, if needed, in Wrigley Field. They had the best record in the majors at home this season at 57-24 with a ridiculous +142 run differential. Yes, they nearly averaged a two-run victory at home over the course of 81 games. In the playoffs, they've already won both of their home games, outscoring the Giants 6-2 in Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS.
On the flip-side, the Dodgers were 38-43 on the road this season, one of just two playoff teams (Orioles being the other) with a losing road record and the worst among playoff teams.
And yet, in order to win this series, the Dodgers have to get at least one road game.
As for getting just one road game and then winning all three in Dodger Stadium, that's a tall order as well. The Dodgers were a very-good 53-28 with a +89 run differential at home, but the Cubs had the second-best road record in baseball at 46-34-1 with a +110 differential.
Cubs won the season series
We've seen several times in recent years how much we can throw the season series out the window, notably the Cubs-Mets NLCS last year. The Cubs went 7-0 against the Mets in the regular season but then were swept in four games in the postseason.
Still, we can look at the head-to-head matchups for some baseline info on the teams.
Beginning on Memorial Day, the Dodgers faced the Cubs for a four-game series in Wrigley, with the Cubs taking three of four. Then in late August, the Dodgers took two of three from the Cubs and the one game the Cubs won was thanks to some late- and extra-inning dramatics.
So the Cubs won the season series four games to three and outscored the Dodgers 19-16. That's fairly even.
The Dodgers' main arms are taxed
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did everything he could have done to get the Dodgers through the last round and he should have. You advance first and sort everything out later. It's just that now the sorting out phase is upon us and things don't look great early in the series.
Clayton Kershaw pitched on short rest in Game 4 and then needed to dial it up quickly in the bullpen in the ninth inning of Game 5 before coming on to close things down.
Coming back from Game 4 to start in Game 1 would have only been three days' rest, so he wasn't going to do that anyway, but now he threw in Game 5. Even if the workload was incredibly low, Kershaw can't possibly come back in Game 1 on one days' rest and it seems very unlikely he's coming back in Game 2 on two days' rest.
By the same token, Rich Hill was on short rest in Game 5 and can't come back for Game 2. Julio Urias threw 30 pitches and the Dodgers are very protective over their 20-year-old phenom.
So it's looking like Kenta Maeda in Game 1 and maybe Ross Stripling or a bullpen game in Game 2 before Kershaw goes in Game 3, Hill goes in Game 4 and maybe Urias takes Game 5.
Further, elite closer Kenley Jansen threw a career-high 51 pitches in Game 5, so he's certainly not coming back for Game 1. The hunch is he's OK by Game 2, but who knows?
All about the lefties
During the regular season, the Cubs were better against left-handed pitching than right-handed pitching. Sure, they were great against both, but they were better when a Southpaw was on the hill. The Dodgers are lefty-heavy in the rotation with Kershaw, Hill and Urias.
On the flip-side, the Dodgers were one of the worst-hitting teams in the majors against left-handers. It has been touched upon to the point that it feels like it's been beaten into the ground these past several months, but it's true.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, the Cubs' rotation only contains one lefty. Unfortunately that's Game 1 starter Jon Lester, who will again get the ball in Game 5, if necessary. Further, the Cubs' long reliever Mike Montgomery is stretched out and can work probably up to five innings if needed. So if there's a quick hook of, say, John Lackey, Montgomery can come in and get the ball all the way to the late innings -- where lefties like Travis Wood and closer Aroldis Chapman lurk.
Brace yourself for managerial moves
Both Cubs manager Joe Maddon and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts have deep benches and bullpens and won't shy away from using everyone on the roster. We'll see double-switches, pinch-hitters for position players, pinch-runners and maybe even pitchers pinch-hitting or pinch-running. Maddon has already let several relievers bat and one of them -- Travis Wood -- hit a home run. This series is truly going to be a team seriers instead of being decided by a small group of individuals on each side.
The running game
If there's one weakness the Cubs have it's that their pitching staff is collectively terrible at holding runners on. Most non-Cubs fans believe that Jon Lester is the big problem and his inability to throw to first base hurts, but Jake Arrieta is actually worse and none of the starters are good at keeping runners close.
Expect David Ross to do most of the catching in the series for the Cubs with Willson Contreras getting back there a bit. Both of those guys have cannons and are exceptional at getting runners. Ross tied for the MLB lead with five pickoffs this season and added one in Game 1 of the NLDS. In limited time, Contreras had four picks in the regular season, too.
Miguel Montero isn't very good these days at throwing, though, and overall the pitching staff was bad enough to allow 133 steals this season, the second-highest total in the majors.
Runners were 28 of 41 against Lester, 23 of 26 against Arrieta, 15 of 20 against John Lackey and 13 of 17 against Kyle Hendricks.
Can the Dodgers take advantage, though? With 45 steals, they ranked 27th in the majors this year. Howie Kendrick was the team leader with 10. Joc Pederson was second with six.
Watching this unfold should be interesting.
Flashing the leather
The Cubs were historically good defensively this season, posting one of the best defensive efficiency marks in MLB history. The Dodgers are no slouches, either, ranking fifth in all of baseball in defensive efficiency.
Go through the individuals and we see a litany of quality defensive players.
We already mentioned the Cubs' catchers, but Yasmani Grandal is a good backstop. Anthony Rizzo is great at first and Adrian Gonzalez has three Gold Gloves. Javier Baez might be the best all-around defender in the league while both Addison Russell and Corey Seager are varying levels of great at short.
In the outfield, we'll see some great play from Joc Pederson, Josh Reddick, Jason Heyward and, yeah, Andrew Toles deserves mention. Off the bench, Cubs outfielder Albert Almora, Jr. showed what he could do with a possibly game-saving catch in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Even most of the regulars not mentioned are steady defensively. There might be some errors, but those will be mitigated easily by highlight-reel plays and covering so much ground to convert a huge percentage of balls in play into outs.
Playoff randomness can happen
The Cubs are better than the Dodgers in most facets of the game and are in much better shape heading into the series regarding injuries and how the rotation is set up. The Dodgers are coming off a rough travel week as well.
But sometimes things just happen in the playoffs. That's what makes them so great: The unpredictability.
It would, frankly, be a surprise if the Dodgers won this series, but they didn't get here by accident. They are a damn good ballclub. Just the second-best one in this series.
CBS Sports predictions
So who do our five baseball scribes like in this series? It's a consensus and a pretty strong one, when considering the number of games.
| R.J. Anderson | Mike Axisa | Jonah Keri | Dayn Perry | Matt Snyder | |
| NLCS Winner |  | | | | |
| No. of Games | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Opposite of the AL, we all have the same team and only one of us even has the series going back to Wrigley for the second time. This shouldn't be surprising. As noted, the Cubs are the clearly superior team and the way the Dodgers had to exhaust themselves, pitching-wise, in Game 5 tilt the scales even more.
Of course, the best team doesn't always win, so ...
