LOS ANGELES -- During the course of the Dodgers' 5-2 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of the NLCS, we might have seen a theme emerge that will help define the series. Sure, the circumstances were a bit off, but seeing the L.A. bullpen completely stifle the Chicago offense while the Cubs' bullpen coughs up runs to the Dodgers has a good possibility to be part of a defining factor this series. 

The circumstances I mentioned were that the Cubs were likely without the services of closer Wade Davis and setup man Carl Edwards, at the very least. That would have meant that Pedro Strop was the closer and Brian Duensing the setup man. And that's just about all the relievers Joe Maddon probably wants to have to use in important situations -- aside from possibly Mike Montgomery in the long role, which he tried to do in Game 1. 

On the flip side, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts hooked ace Clayton Kershaw after just five innings and watched Tony Cingrani, Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson and Kenley Jansen piece together four innings of perfect ball. That's right. It was 12 up and 12 down for that group. 

The two bullpens are a study in contrast right now. 

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Kenta Maeda has been lights out for the Dodgers this postseason. USATSI

While the bridge to Jansen -- the best closer in baseball -- was an issue for stretches this year, the Dodgers have really settled things down with the additions of those two lefties (Cingrani and Watson) in front of the trade deadline along with moving Maeda to the bullpen and Morrow staying healthy. 

Maeda, in an admitted small sample, appears to have settled into his relief role. He's now gone four straight scoreless outings. 

"I think the credit goes to Kenta as far as buying in and understanding that every out in the postseason is important," Roberts said after Game 1. "So when he gets his opportunity, he's been light's out."

He has been. Maeda's three outings in the playoffs have covered three innings and just nine batters faced. He's been perfect. 

Cingrani in the regular season had a 2.79 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings for the Dodgers after the trade. He's Roberts' LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy) in the playoffs. He's appeared in three games, facing three batters. In those chances, he's recorded four outs, thanks to a double play the one time he inherited a runner. 

Watson is a former closer and also left-handed, so he has late-inning pedigree and can play matchups against someone like Anthony Rizzo once Cingrani is burned. 

Morrow long had off-the-charts talent. It's why he was selected fifth overall in the 2006 draft and kept getting chances in rotations despite his inability to stay healthy and consistent. After a sneak peek back in relief late in 2016 with the Padres, the Dodgers grabbed Morrow on the cheap and he's paid off in a big way. He started the season in Triple-A, but after coming up in late May, he pitched to a 2.06 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings. He's already been good in the postseason, too. 

Along with Jansen, the Dodgers can shorten the game to five or even maybe even four innings from the starting pitcher thanks to a group of four relievers that weren't even in the bullpen to start the season. 

Over in the opposite dugout, Maddon can't win. The bullpen was actually great in the first half (3.26 ERA), but fell apart after the All-Star break (4.48 ERA), which was weirdly the complete opposite of the rest of the team. 

The eighth inning has been a problem all season, as I noted after Game 4 of the NLDS. Former closer Rondon had a down season, to the point he was left off the NLDS roster. Edwards is very good, but inconsistent and struggles with command at times. Strop had a good year, but is fickle. Even Davis had the worst walk rate (4.3 K/9) of his career and allowed more home runs than the previous three seasons combined -- without even counting the grand slam he coughed up to Michael Taylor in NLDS Game 4. 

To compound matters, the Cubs swung a trade in front of the deadline to shore up the bullpen, acquiring then-Tigers closer Justin Wilson. He's been awful. He had a 2.68 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with the Tigers. With the Cubs? 5.09 and 2.09. He walked more batters in 17 2/3 innings with the Cubs than he did in over 40 innings with the Tigers. He's now not even on the Cubs' postseason roster.  

Removing the playoff starters who worked in relief, the Cubs' bullpen has a 6.75 ERA this postseason. 

The Dodgers bullpen has given up just three runs in 15 2/3 innings now this postseason, which is a 1.72 ERA. 

The Cubs get their good arms all back for Game 2, but those guys have proven to be relatively unreliable. Maybe Duensing, Strop, Edwards and Davis lock it in the rest of the series. 

The way things look right now, though, Cingrani, Maeda, Morrow, Watson and Jansen look a lot more reliable. 

It's really quite the study in contrast that no one could have predicted back in April -- at least not the specific names.