The Los Angeles Dodgers evened the National League Championship Series at 1-1 with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night at Wrigley Field.
Pitching dominated the game, with the two teams combining for five hits and 16 strikeouts.
Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out five batters and walked four.
On another night, those numbers might’ve been good enough to propel Chicago to victory, but Clayton Kershaw was magnificent for the Dodgers. He pitched seven shutout innings, allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one.
Despite being the best pitcher in baseball and a three-time Cy Young Award winner, Kershaw has yet to enjoy much success in the postseason. He entered Sunday night with a 3-6 record and 4.79 earned run average in 16 playoff appearances.
Kershaw pitched 12.1 innings in the National League Division Series, including the final two outs of Los Angeles’ Game 5 series-clinching win over the Washington Nationals. As a result, some questioned whether fatigue would be a factor for the dominant lefty.
CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes provided his workload over the past week:
Not only did Kershaw silence the high-powered Cubs offense, but he was also efficient in doing so. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark noted how quickly the six-time All-Star breezed through the first half of Game 2:
Statcast showed how Kershaw kept Cubs hitters on their toes by locating his pitches all over the plate:
Kershaw didn’t need much offensive support, and Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez delivered enough in the top of the second with a solo home run to left-center field. The Dodgers provided a replay of the drive:
According to Baseball-Reference.com, it was the fifth home run Hendricks allowed at home this year, compared to 11 on the road.
After Kershaw threw four perfect innings, the Cubs got their first baserunner with two outs in the fifth. Second baseman Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras hit back-to-back singles, but right fielder Jason Heyward fouled out to end the inning.
Los Angeles got runners on first and second with one out in the top half of the sixth. Baez made a heads-up play, though, to complete a double play and prevent any damage.
Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson hit a soft liner to second. Rather than catching the ball, Baez played it off a hop, which allowed him to get the force out at second. Shortstop Addison Russell then tagged out Gonzalez between second and third for the second out.
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish and Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan praised Baez for thinking so quickly on his feet:
Baez was feet away from being the hero on offense in the bottom of the seventh.
With two outs in the inning and a runner on first, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts visited the mound, seemingly to replace Kershaw with closer Kenley Jansen. Instead, Roberts left his starter out for one more batter.
Baez drove a 1-0 fastball deep to center field, and the Wrigley Field crowd rose to its feet in anticipation of a go-ahead two-run homer. But the windy conditions inside the stadium knocked the ball down, and Pederson made the catch in front of the center-field wall.
Kershaw thought Chicago had taken the lead, per Stark:
According to Statcast, Baez’s flyout is a home run more often than not:
Jansen came on for Kershaw to start the eighth and set the Cubs down in order over the final two innings to seal the win.
Rich Hill and Jake Arrieta will take the mound in Game 3 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Hill looked strong early in his two postseason starts, but Roberts showed he isn’t afraid to remove the veteran left-hander at the first sign of trouble. Hill made it through 4.1 innings in his first outing and 2.2 innings in his second.
Should the Cubs jump on Hill in the first few innings, Roberts may once again be forced to dip into his bullpen earlier than he otherwise would’ve wanted.
Arrieta picked up a no-decision in his lone postseason start. He pitched six innings and allowed two earned runs before handing Game 3 of the National League Division Series over to his relievers.
The 2015 Cy Young winner went seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 31. If he can repeat that Tuesday, Chicago will likely take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS.
Postgame Reaction
Kershaw shared his thoughts after the game with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (via Fox Sports: MLB):
Pederson praised Gonzalez, Kershaw and Jansen:
“Now it’s a race to three,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
“The big thing with Kershaw is that if he’s on top of his game, man,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “It is what it is. You never anticipate scoring a lot of runs.”
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com