Kuzul

The MLB postseason has been filled with drama throughout October, but that wasn’t the case on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays won the two respective games by a combined total of 11-1, but Los Angeles is in a much more favorable position than the Blue Jays moving forward. The Dodgers lead the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in the National League Championship Series, while the Cleveland Indians still hold a 3-1 advantage in the American League Championship Series.

With that in mind, here is a look at an updated bracket, recap of what happened and look ahead to the next games with spots in the World Series on the line.

Updated Bracket

American League

National League

Tuesday’s Results

American League

The Blue Jays kept their season alive with a 5-1 victory thanks to the Josh Donaldson show.

The third baseman started the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning that woke up a slumbering offense, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted:

Donaldson didn’t just do damage with his bat. Cleveland’s Roberto Perez trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with an RBI double in the fifth, and Carlos Santana appeared to find a hole on a potential game-tying hit, but Donaldson caught it with a full-extension dive and fired to first base to end the threat.

Heidi Watney of MLB Network pointed out he was happier with the defense than offense:

That fifth inning was the last legitimate scoring chance for the Indians throughout the game, while Toronto added insurance in the seventh and the eighth. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh, and Edwin Encarnacion made Cleveland pay for an intentional walk of Donaldson with a two-RBI single.

Kevin Pillar added an RBI in the eighth with a sacrifice fly. 

The Blue Jays received six innings of one-run baseball from starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez and three shutout innings from the bullpen. As for Sanchez’s counterpart, Corey Kluber allowed two earned runs, four hits and two walks in five innings on short rest.

National League

If it was the Donaldson show in the American League, it was the Rich Hill show in the National League.

The southpaw cruised through six shutout innings against the Cubs and gave the Dodgers the 2-1 lead in the series. He allowed just two hits and struck out six against his former team and overcame a slow start in the second inning when things seemed to be slipping away.

Hill walked Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler, and the two runners eventually ended up on second and third after a Rizzo steal and a passed ball. However, Hill struck out Addison Russell and induced a groundout from Miguel Montero to stifle the threat.

He praised his catcher, Yasmani Grandal, for helping him keep his cool, per Dodger Insider: “Yas did a great job of getting me back on track.”

That wasn’t all Grandal did, as he drilled a two-run homer against Jake Arrieta. Justin Turner also took Chicago’s starter and last year’s National League Cy Young winner deep, and Corey Seager spearheaded much of the offense with three hits and an RBI.

Looking Ahead

American League

Regardless of what happens, Wednesday’s Game 5 will be the final contest in Toronto for the entire ALCS.

According to MLB.com, the Blue Jays will turn toward starting pitcher Marco Estrada, while the Indians will counter with rookie Ryan Merritt. The 24-year-old Merritt appeared in just four games all season—one of which was a start—but he is taking the ball on Wednesday almost out of necessity.

Danny Salazar hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 9 because of a forearm injury, and Carlos Carrasco is out for the year with a hand ailment.

Despite the injury woes, Merritt’s small-sample-size stats are head-turning in just 11 innings. He allowed two earned runs, six hits and zero walks for a 1.64 ERA and 0.55 WHIP. However, pitching in front of a raucous Rogers Centre crowd with their team’s season hanging in the balance will be a different story.

Look for the Toronto offense to continue its momentum from Tuesday’s win against an unprepared Merritt while Estrada pitches six solid innings. The Blue Jays will do enough to shift the series back to Cleveland.

Game 5 prediction: Blue Jays 5, Indians 3

National League

The Cubs won 103 games during the regular season, which was the best mark in all of baseball. Still, their backs are officially against the wall after failing to score in two straight games against the Dodgers following an eight-run outburst in Game 1.

A major part of the concern from Chicago’s point of view comes from the lack of production from three of its key pieces. Season-long MVP candidate Anthony Rizzo is an abysmal 2-for-26 in the playoffs, while Addison Russell is 1-for-24 and Jason Heyward is 2-for-19.

If that threesome continues to struggle, the Cubs’ season will likely end in the NLCS for the second straight year.

They will take their cracks at 20-year-old Julio Urias in Wednesday’s Game 4. While the rookie doesn’t have a postseason start on his resume, he did finish the 2016 campaign with a solid 3.39 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.

The Cubs will send the furthest thing from a rookie they have on their staff to the mound—37-year-old John Lackey. He has 24 playoff appearances in his career with a 3.22 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in those games.

While the Dodgers still have a great chance to ultimately win this series with Clayton Kershaw to unleash in later contests, experience will triumph over youth in Wednesday’s game. Lackey has pitched in big moments throughout his career, so the pressure surrounding this start will be nothing new.

A Chicago offense that finished third in the league with 808 runs will eventually snap out of its slump. Look for it to come against the rookie in a critical Game 4.

Game 4 Prediction: Cubs 6, Dodgers 3

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the driver’s seat in the National League Championship Series.

Now, rookie Julio Urias can steer them to the brink of a World Series berth.

After defeating the Chicago Cubs 6-0 in Game 3 of the NLCS on Tuesday, the Dodgers hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven tussle. They’re two victories away from their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1988.

So far this postseason, L.A. has started ace Clayton Kershaw, Japanese import Kenta Maeda and trade-deadline acquisition Rich Hill. Its bullpen, headlined by closer Kenley Jansen, has taken care of the rest.

In Game 4, however, skipper Dave Roberts will hand the ball to Urias, who will become the youngest starting pitcher in MLB playoff history at 20 years and 68 days old, per Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. (h/t Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). He’s slated to break Bret Saberhagen’s record, as the Kansas City Royals starter was 20 years, 175 days old when he pitched in the 1984 ALCS.

No pressure, kid. 

“Julio, I think that we expect him to just go out there and compete,” Roberts said, per McCalvy. “Use his pitch mix and go after these guys, give us a chance to win a baseball game. It’s what Julio has done all year long.” 

Specifically, it’s what he did in the second half.

In 40.2 innings after the All-Star break, Urias posted a 1.99 ERA with 40 strikeouts. More impressively, he boasted a 1.26 ERA in 35.2 innings since Aug. 8. He has consistently shown the stuff of the standout stud Los Angeles believes he’ll become.

Now, he can prove himself on baseball’s biggest, brightest stage.

These Cubs are potent, even though they’ve scored zero runs in the last two games against L.A. Their lineup is stuffed with budding superstars who can change everything with a single swing.

If you’re looking at backstory, Urias made two starts against the Cubs in the regular season.

On June 2, he yielded eight hits and five earned runs in five innings in a 7-2 loss at Wrigley Field. It was just the second start of his MLB career. He was still 19 years old. He was in the most historic, renowned ballpark in the National League. It wasn’t exactly a fair display of his talent.

On Aug. 27, however, he pitched six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in a 3-2 victory at Chavez Ravine—where he’ll pitch Wednesday night in front of a full-throated Southern California home crowd. 

That second start made Urias feel “more comfortable” against the Cubs, per David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports. 

But it’s not predictive. The Cubs ranked second only to the mile-high Colorado Rockies among NL clubs in runs and OPS in the regular season. Urias could get whacked on Wednesday, like anyone else.

The burgeoning hurler appears poised for success, though. He’s a different animal from the fresh call-up who took the mound back in June.

Urias is rested, having thrown just two innings since Sept. 29. Those two frames just happened to come in a winner-take-all NLDS Game 5 against the Washington Nationals. He had ice water in his veins during the outing, becoming the youngest MLB pitcher to ever win a postseason game.

And while this is a game the Dodgers would like to win, it’s not one they need to win, so the expectations are marginally less weighty.

Not that Urias can’t take it. The southpaw is still about a year shy of the legal U.S. drinking age, but Roberts called him “calm and cool,” per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. 

“Some of it plays to the youthfulness, the naivete, and just not really understanding the gravity of this moment, which is great,” Roberts said, per Moura.

For his part, Urias acknowledged the stakes. 

“It’s something you have to deal with,” he said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. “I felt the adrenaline when I was on the bench, so I’m thinking it’s something I’m also going to feel [in Game 4].”

No Cubs hitter has anything approaching a deep history against Urias. But Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Jason Heyward have all homered against him. 

“It’ll be easier to establish what we want to do against him, just because we’ve all had at-bats against him,” Bryant said, per MLB.com’s Phil Rogers. “But it’s a different time of the year. I’m sure he’ll be throwing a little harder because it’s the postseason.”

There’s also the controversy over Urias‘ pickoff move, which The Beat’s Justin Russo captured: 

That’s a possible source of grumbling if you’re searching for one. Cubs manager Joe Maddon called it “balking 101,” per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. So keep an eye on that.

Sideshows notwithstanding, however, Urias has a path to October glory if he can outshine veteran Chicago right-hander John Lackey, who was finishing up high school in Abilene, Texas, when Urias was born. He can pen a legend and scribble his name all over it.

“Under normal circumstances,” USA Today‘s Jorge L. Ortiz opined, “the Dodgers brass might have preferred to go with a more experienced starter.” But these aren’t normal circumstances. Injuries have beset L.A.’s starting corps. So here’s Urias, healthy and ready.

The Dodgers are in the driver’s seat. And a kid who’s barely tasted his 20s has his foot poised over the accelerator.

Buckle up.

All statistics current as of Tuesday and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Chicago Cubs find themselves in an unexpected position heading into Game 4, but this series is still far from over.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the surprise leaders of the National League Championship Series, currently up 2-1 after the 6-0 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night. The pitching has been lights out over the last two games, shocking a Cubs team that won 103 games during the regular season.

This puts the pressure on Chicago to even the series or else end up in desperation mode in the coming days.

NLCS Game 4

When: Wednesday, Oct. 19

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

TV: Fox Sports 1

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Preview

The big question after the past two games is the state of the Cubs lineup, which was seemingly unstoppable heading into the series. The offense finished the season third in baseball in runs scored, with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo representing arguably the best one-two punch in the sport.

Unfortunately, this group has been completely shut down over the past two games by Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill.

Failing to score a single run in two games is embarrassing enough; going 6-for-60 at the plate as a team in this stretch is a disaster. Dexter Fowler’s double was the only extra-base hit.

Ben Finfer of ESPN Radio noted the extended concern going forward:

Of course in baseball, a team is only as good as its next day’s starting pitcher. This puts a lot of pressure on 20-year-old Julio Urias. The Dodgers rookie has pitched only two innings this postseason—he allowed one hit and no runs against the Washington Nationals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series—which means he is likely to feel the pressure in by far the biggest start of his career.

The southpaw has a lot of talent, but the Cubs can get after him if they are patient at the plate. If the walks start coming, the hits will follow—and so will the runs.

On the other side, the Cubs will use a pitcher with a lot more playoff experience. John Lackey comes to the mound with a respectable 3.22 ERA in 131.1 career postseason innings. That is almost double the amount of innings Urias has pitched in his entire major league career (79 innings including playoffs).

He also has two World Series titles, and he pitched in both of the championship-clinching games.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon explained the advantage Lackey has compared to a younger pitcher, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:

You could always say that what you don’t know can’t hurt you — you just go out there and you’re winging it and you’re not over-analyzing it; I get that. But having an experienced guy like John … he really understands what he’s doing out there and how to manipulate and work against certain hitters.

He knows how to use a hitter’s aggressiveness against him. He knows who to stay away from in certain moments. He’ll pick his poison, who to pitch to and who to not pitch to. He has a really good feel for this part of the game.

Even after allowing three runs in four innings in his only other start of the postseason, the Cubs should feel confident sending their fourth starter to the mound Wednesday.

While the Dodgers lineup has been effective, especially Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager, this group is not unstoppable.

Still, none of it will matter if the Chicago offense does not come alive. Rizzo’s 3-for-29 in the playoffs stands out, but just about everyone is to blame for the current slide.

The good news is there is enough talent on the roster to turn things around. If just one or two players perform to their ability, the Cubs should be able to break out of the slump and find a way to even up the series.

Prediction: Cubs 4, Dodgers 3

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Chicago Cubs fans might want to issue an APB on the team’s offense. Chicago was shut out for the second straight game in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, the first time that’s happened since May 2014.

It has left serious doubts as to whether this team will be able to even the National League Championship Series at two games after Wednesday’s Game 4.

It is, however, entirely possible. The talent exists on the roster of MLB’s best team this regular season. Care to see how it has to go about it?

Begin Slideshow

The Cleveland Indians have a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, so there’s nothing at all for Terry Francona and his team to be worried about, right?

To borrow a phrase from ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend.

The Indians have a couple of issues after losing their first game of the postseason Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

They sent ace Corey Kluber to the mound with the hope of closing out the Blue Jays in four games. However, Toronto got the jump on Cleveland when third baseman Josh Donaldson launched a third-inning pitch from Kluber over the left field fence, giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.

That was the first time the Blue Jays had the lead in the series, and it was the first time the Indians had trailed in the playoffs since the early innings of Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays added a run to make it 2-0, and after the Indians cut it to 2-1, the Blue Jays regained full control when Edwin Encarnacion hit a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to extend the advantage to 4-1.

While Kluber had a human effort and gave up a few runs in the playoffs for the first time in three starts, hard-throwing Aaron Sanchez was sharp for the Blue Jays. He gave up just one run on two hits in six innings.

It still looks like the Blue Jays have a big hill to climb, but the confidence level of John Gibbons’ team should be much higher as a result of the Game 4 win. The Blue Jays appear to have a major advantage in Game 5, as they’ll send Marco Estrada to the mound against Cleveland rookie left-hander Ryan Merritt.

Injuries to the Cleveland pitching staff have put the Indians in a precarious position for fielding starting pitchers.

Kluber is a stud, and Josh Tomlin has also pitched well in the postseason after an up-and-down regular season. But Francona has little to choose from aside from those two. Trevor Bauer has his infamous bloody pinkie finger that forced him to be pulled in the first inning of Game 3. Additionally, starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar are both injured. 

That’s why Merritt will get the ball in Game 5. If you don’t know much about him, don’t feel bad. When Gibbons was asked what he knew about Merritt, his response was that he knew he was left-handed, according to Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer.

Merritt pitched 11 innings for the Tribe this season after spending the season at Triple-A Columbus. He gave up six hits and two earned runs in his limited time on the mound, but that’s not much of a sample size.

In addition to their injured starters, the Indians are not hammering the baseball at this point. They have scored nine runs in four games, and if they can’t significantly improve their production in Game 5, they are going to have a difficult time closing out the Jays.

Nevertheless, Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez said his team is not worried. “No one is panicking,” Perez told Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “They’re a good team. We’re going to show up and play like we always do.”

The Blue Jays are down 3-1 and still have a long way to go. However, they just beat Kluber and have a pulse. If they were able to take care of the Indians’ ace, it seems they should be able to handle a pitcher who does not appear to be ready for prime time.

Keys for Cleveland

Get the bats going. While the story going into Game 4 was the Blue Jays’ inability to get their offense on track, that narrative is changing. The Indians have not scored a run from the seventh inning on in the postseason, and they are struggling to put enough runs on the board.

The Indians would like to get a solid five or six innings out of Merritt, but that may be unrealistic. Francona has been successful to this point in the postseason because the bullpen has been so effective. If the Indians are going to find a way to win this game, they’ll need to get another stellar performance from their bullpen.

If the Indians can get three good innings from Merritt, the bullpen may have to take over from that point. It is essential than Andrew Miller and Co. have a dominant game here.

Keys for Toronto

Jump on top early in this game. The Blue Jays appear to have a huge edge in the starting pitcher matchup, and the sooner they get the lead, the more pressure they can put on the Indians.

Donaldson and Encarnacion are starting to hit, and they have to continue to pound the baseball. If Gibbons can get something out of Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Bautista, they’ll have a chance to register a knockout in this game.

Estrada pitched very well in Game 1, but he got beat when he gave up a two-run homer to Lindor. If he can hold the Indians to two runs here, the Blue Jays should be able to find a way to send the series back to Cleveland.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken control of the National League Championship Series, seizing a 2-1 lead after blanking the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers spread 10 hits and scored in four different innings, getting a two-run home run from Yasmani Grandal in the fourth inning and a solo shot from Justin Turner in the sixth. Grandal had three RBI while Corey Seager and Joc Pederson also had run-scoring hits for Los Angeles, which has won two straight after losing the opener 8-3.

Rich Hill held the Cubs to two hits over six innings, with Chicago managing only four hits in getting shut out for a second consecutive game. Chicago starter Jake Arrieta was chased after allowing four runs in five-plus in his first start in Dodger Stadium since his 2015 no-hitter.

Game 4 is set for 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, with the Cubs sending John Lackey against Los Angeles’ Julio Urias.

Scroll down for all of our updates, analysis, statistics, pitchers, tweets and anything else worth noting from L.A.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The MLB season continues on Tuesday, with both the NLCS and ALCS featuring crucial games for different reasons. In the NLCS, both teams will be looking to take control of the series. In the ALCS, things might come to a close on Tuesday.

Below, we’ll break down the remaining schedules of the series, all of the viewing information and preview the contests on tap.

It’s all up for grabs between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the series tied at one game apiece and shifting to Los Angeles for the next three contests. 

The Cubs will be pleased to avoid Clayton Kershaw in those contests (though he likely would make an appearance in Game 5 if the Dodgers drop the next two contests and find themselves facing elimination). After all, the Dodgers are 4-0 in games Kershaw has pitched in this postseason and 0-3 in games where he hasn’t made an appearance.

A lot of talk surrounding the Cubs has been based on the pressure they face as they try to end the organization’s long championship drought, but the Dodgers are under immense pressure against a loaded Cubs lineup, too. Yes, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell have struggled. But Javier Baez and Kris Bryant have carried the Cubs in their stead, and it’s hard to imagine the team’s bats staying quiet for long.

“We haven’t hit to our capabilities,” manager Joe Maddon told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “However, we won a series against a really good October-tested team, and now we’re 1-1 against a very good team coming back here. So you try to balance it out.”

Maddon added:

There’s only so much you can possibly do when it comes to manipulating your lineup. These are the guys that got you here. These are your guys. We’ve got a bunch of All-Stars out there. When you get to this point, you’ve got five games left to really make it right as opposed to 75 to make it right. There is a difference with that. There are certain things you’d do in the middle of the season in order to move something along, just not during the playoffs.

With neither team hitting particularly well, Game 3 should feature a doozy of a pitching duel between Chicago’s Jake Arrieta and L.A.’s Rich Hill. And Tuesday’s game is pivotal. Win, and the Cubs will guarantee the series returns to Chicago (unless they win all three games in Los Angeles, that is). Lose, and the possibility remains that the Dodgers could end the series at home. 

A lot is on the line Tuesday night. The Cubs will be glad Kershaw doesn’t have a say in the matter.

While everything is up for grabs between the Cubs and Dodgers, Cleveland appears to have things wrapped up in the ALCS. The team took a 3-0 lead on Monday night and is now a perfect 6-0 this postseason, continuing a dominant run despite having to overcome a number of injuries late in the season. 

What has been even more impressive against the Blue Jays, however, has been how dominant Cleveland’s pitching has been. Against a Toronto offense that finished third in the American League in home runs and fifth in runs this season, Cleveland has given up just three total runs in three games.

That’s in contrast to the 22 runs and eight home runs the Blue Jays hit in three games against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS.

The trio of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki are a combined 4-for-31 in the series and haven’t managed to score a run or produce an RBI. And now the team’s struggling offense now has to face Cleveland ace Corey Kluber in Game 4.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Toronto manager John Gibbons told Ian Harrison of the Associated Press (via CBC Sports). “That’s an understatement.”

Outfielder Kevin Pillar added: “It’s obviously tough. We got some big hits in the wild-card game and that kind of carried over to the Texas series. It’s that simple. We just haven’t been able to execute when we need it.”

They’ll need to execute to stay alive in Game 4, and they’ll need starter Aaron Sanchez to do better in his second postseason start after he gave up six runs in 5.2 innings against the Rangers on Oct. 9. 

The Blue Jays are running on fumes at this point. But given their loaded and dangerous lineup, they are still capable of slugging their way back into this series. They’ll have to wake up against Kluber, however, who has struck out 13 batters and hasn’t given up a run in 13.1 postseason innings.

So yes, things look bleak for the Blue Jays. 

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Toronto Blue Jays got just what they needed against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, finding a way to remain alive in the American League Championship Series.

The Blue Jays took the lead for the first time in any game in the series when Josh Donaldson launched a home run off Corey Kluber in the third inning, and the Jays did a good job of building on that lead.

Edwin Encarnacion had a two-run single in the seventh inning to help Toronto pull away.

The Jays also got excellent pitching from starter Aaron Sanchez and their bullpen to emerge with a 5-1 win at the Rogers Centre.

The Indians still lead the series 3-1.

Sanchez was credited with the victory, as he gave up just one run on two hits and two walks in six innings. Kluber took the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings of work.

Game 5 will be played at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday afternoon, pitting Cleveland’s Ryan Merritt against Marco Estrada.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the Los Angeles Dodgers dropping Game 1 of the National League Championship Series and staring at a 2-0 deficit, they put all their faith in Clayton Kershaw. Once again, the best pitcher in baseball rewarded that faith.

Kershaw threw seven scoreless innings and Kenley Jansen closed out the final two as the Dodgers earned a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. It’s the third time Kershaw pitched in the span of six days, including his save in Game 5 of the National League Division Series on one day’s rest.

“It should surprise me what he’s doing,” Dodgers president Andrew Friedman told USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, “but being around him, the way he prepares, how he competes, it really doesn’t surprise me. It almost feels like I’m being too flippant about it, but I just know him well enough not to be surprised about it.”

The Dodgers, thanks to Kershaw, have overtaken home-field advantage.

Their odds of keeping it heading into Game 3? Not so great.

Taking the mound for the Cubs is ace Jake Arrieta, perhaps Kershaw‘s only near-equal over the last three seasons among NL pitchers. Arrieta, like Kershaw, had his issues during the regular season. While the Dodgers ace struggled with injuries, Arrieta saw his performance go from unhittable in the first two months to merely good over the last four.

He finished 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. That’s an increase of nearly a run-and-a-half over the course of nine innings and an extra 0.22 batters getting on base per inning from his Cy Young 2015. FanGraphs‘ WAR formula tabulated Arrieta‘s at 3.8 for 2016—almost a decrease of half from last season.

“I think last year is indicative of what Jake is all about,” manager Joe Maddon told reporters. “This season everybody has been over-scrutinizing him based on what he had done last year. He had a great season. It’s not maybe as great as last year was, but it’s hard to replicate that.”

Arrieta gave up two runs over six solid innings of work in his NLDS start against the San Francisco Giants. It was the only game Chicago lost in the series, though Arrieta took a no-decision.

The Dodgers will start Rich Hill, himself dealing with a fair share of frustration over the second half of the season. An early Cy Young contender after breaking out with the Oakland Athletics, Hill’s midseason acquisition did not turn out to be a home run for the Dodgers. The lefty spent more of his time limited by a recurring blister on his throwing hand, which put him on the shelf at times and forced him out of starts early in others.

Hill had two starts in the NLDS against the Washington Nationals, neither of which were entirely successful. He took the loss in Game 2 after giving up four runs in 4.1 innings and then threw 2.2 innings while pitching on short rest in Game 5. While he only allowed one run, Washington got five runners on base.

“You’ve been working days, weeks, months, years, decades,” Hill told reporters. “Everybody always says, ‘This is what you play for. This is what you play for.’ It is. This is what you play for.”

The Cubs bats will be looking to enliven themselves after suffering their first shutout loss since an August matchup with these same Dodgers. Chicago has been shut out seven times in 2016, three of which came against Los Angeles. The young upstarts were only shut down twice in the second half, however, and pelted the Dodgers for eight runs in Game 1.

“We can win all of them,” Javier Baez told reporters. “We know we’re the best. We got the best team out there. (But) you got to play the game.”

Baez has been the star of the postseason for the Cubs, recording a base hit in every game while hitting .391/.417/.609. He and Kris Bryant have been doing the heavy work in the middle of the order while a majority of the roster has struggled.

Catcher David Ross had this to say about Baez, per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

He’s probably the most exciting player in baseball right now. He’s energetic, he’s not scared of the moment. He stays true to who he is with baserunning and the flair he has. He doesn’t shy away from that in the big moment; it almost comes out more. His instincts, to steal home there, to come out and have the guts to do that, that should tell you a lot about Javy Baez. He’s a fearless individual and he’s very, very talented.

The underlying numbers say Baez could be in store for another big game. He hit .311 against lefties during the regular season, with his slugging percentage jumping more than 70 points. With Arrieta on the mound, all it could take is one big swing to have the Cubs back in command. 

Prediction: Cubs 4, Dodgers 2

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Cleveland Indians continue to shock the baseball world. 

Even though starting pitcher Trevor Bauer had to come out of Game 3 with a bleeding pinkie finger in the first inning, the Cleveland Indians came through with a 4-2 win at the Rogers Centre, and they are on the verge of knocking out the Toronto Blue Jays and advancing to the World Series.

It was a surprise that the Indians beat the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. Repeating the task in such a straightforward fashion against the Blue Jays is an even bigger shocker.

Bauer had cut his finger while repairing a drone that he owned, and his start was pushed back from Game 2 to Game 3. That change turned out to be ineffective, as Bauer’s injured finger started bleeding almost immediately, and manager Terry Francona had to remove him after two outs.

Rules prevented the pitcher from putting anything like a bandage on the injury, which forced the Indians to make it a bullpen game.

That should have helped the Blue Jays, but the Indians led 1-0 and 2-1 before finally taking the 4-2 lead that would serve as the final score. The Indians got home runs from Mike Napoli (who also had an RBI double) and Jason Kipnis, while Michael Saunders hit one for the Blue Jays.

Relievers Dan Otero, Jeff Manship, Zach McAllister and Bryan Shaw combined for 5.1 innings before Francona brought in closer Cody Allen and superb relief weapon Andrew Miller for the final three innings.

This time, Francona used Allen in the seventh and into the eighth, while Miller closed out the game by striking out three batters in 1.1 innings.

“That wasn’t the way we drew it up, but [our] bullpen—that’s one of the most amazing jobs I’ve ever seen,” Francona told reporters after the game (h/t Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com). “I mean starting with Otero to Manship to McAllister to Shaw. If anybody has a hiccup, we probably lose.”

The Indians will start Corey Kluber in Game 4 on Tuesday afternoon at 4:08 p.m. ET, and their ace will have a chance to complete the triumph and sweep the ALCS. Kluber has thrown 13.1 scoreless innings in the postseason and has a 2-0 record. He beat the Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS and the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS. 

He is starting on short rest for the first time in his career.

The Blue Jays have a formidable task in front of them, as they now must win four straight games if they are going to advance to the World Series. That’s a near-impossible task, as only the 2004 Boston Red Sox were (famously) able to climb out of such a hole in MLB history.

The Blue Jays will send Aaron Sanchez to the mound for his second career postseason start. He also started against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS and was not effective in that effort, giving up six earned runs on three hits and four walks.

Sanchez was 15-2 during the regular season with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.167 WHIP. He hopes to have a more even-keel performance against the Indians in this start.

“Hopefully just to keep my emotions in check,” Sanchez said, via CBSSports.com, of what his previous start taught him. “I’ve been there before, last year, but it was out of the ‘pen. The roles were a little bit different.”

Prediction

A Cleveland sweep certainly was an improbable result before the start of this series, but not any longer.

The Indians are sending their best starting pitcher to the mound at the Rogers Centre, and Kluber has shown he can make his best pitches in critical situations.

Sanchez is a talented pitcher, but he did not pitch well in his only postseason start. Combine that with the 0-3 hole and it seems unlikely the Blue Jays will solve Kluber and his remarkable bullpen.

Look for the Indians to win another low-scoring game and sweep the previously hard-hitting Jays out of the postseason.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com