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The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t receive a sterling performance from starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, but a couple of home runs and a strong bullpen effort allowed the NL West champions to sneak out a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.  

Washington now trails 1-0 with Game 2 slated for Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park. It got off on the wrong foot in search of the franchise’s first division series victory since 1981. 

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer allowed 17 first-inning runs this season—his most in any stanza, according to MASN’s Mark Zuckerman—and his trend of starting slowly continued Friday. 

Corey Seager stepped into the box as the second batter of the day, and he promptly crushed a solo home run over the center field fence in his first career postseason at-bat to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead, as MLB showed on Twitter: 

The Nationals didn’t experience similar success on the scoreboard during the game’s opening stages, but they did make Kershaw work. Specifically, Washington loaded the bases in the second, and Scherzer worked an eight-pitch at-bat against the southpaw before he popped out to shallow left. 

As the Washington Post‘s Jorge Castillo noted, the Nationals had to take solace in silver linings as the Dodgers maintained a slight edge: 

Once that crisis was averted, the Dodgers collectively exhaled and continued to find success in spots against Scherzer.

After Andrew Toles singled to start the inning, Chase Utley scored him from second on a single of his own to push the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0. A couple of batters later, Justin Turner followed in Seager’s footsteps and crushed a two-run home run to give L.A. a cushy 4-0 advantage. 

CSN Mid Atlantic’s Chase Hughes put Scherzer’s struggles in context: 

But just when it looked like the wheels were starting to fall off, the Nationals responded. 

With men on second and third, Anthony Rendon delivered a two-run single to left field to slash the Dodgers’ lead in half. 

By the time the third inning came to a close, Kershaw had thrown 66 pitches and allowed five hits in what proved to be another less than stellar postseason display. 

ESPN Los Angeles’ Steve Mason believed Kershaw didn’t look like himself on the mound in hostile territory: 

Kershaw gutted it out through the end of the fourth inning after he allowed Washington to cut L.A.’s lead to one, but his command remained shaky.

Los Angeles’ ace ultimately logged 101 pitches through five innings—which represented the most he tossed since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 9, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. 

Sporting News’ Jesse Spector broke down Kershaw’s evening once the three-time Cy Young Award winner was replaced by reliever Joe Blanton: 

Conversely, Scherzer struck out five and gave up five hits over six innings. However, two costly mistakes served as blemishes on an otherwise impressive outing, per Zuckerman: 

Once the starters sat, the Dodgers bullpen took over. 

Blanton, Grant Dayton and Pedro Baez combined to pitch 2.1 no-hit innings, and they served as a stellar bridge to closer Kenley Jansen—who was brought aboard for his first successful five-out save since April 13 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Jansen’s clutch effort was amplified by the fact he retired Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth in the ninth to give his side a 1-0 series lead. 

The Nationals will now turn to Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA) to try to stem the tide in Game 2, while the Dodgers will trust Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA) on the mound as they seek to take a 2-0 lead back to Hollywood and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2013. 

Postgame Reaction

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Dodgers are in an advantageous spot entering Game 2: 

Hoornstra later relayed word from manager Dave Roberts regarding Jansen’s potential usage later in the series: 

The Los Angeles Times‘ Bill Shaikin noted Jansen was in favor of that plan: 

As for the Nationals, Daniel Murphy owned up to his decision to try to swipe second when he was caught stealing. 

“There are two choices there, be safe or don’t run,” he said, according to MLB.com’s Alex Putterman. “It was a bad play.”

As for Danny Espinosa (0-for-3 with three strikeouts), manager Dusty Baker just noted it wasn’t the shortstop’s night. 

“Espinosa can turn around and hit the next pitch out of the park,” he said, according to the Washington Post‘s Chelsea Janes. “That’s what’s kind of frustrating…his swing was long tonight.”

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FINAL SCORE: Los Angeles Dodgers 4 – 3 Washington Nationals

Although Clayton Kershaw didn’t exude his usual excellence Friday, the Dodgers still seized Game 1 of the National League Division Series road matchup against the Nationals.

Kershaw carefully navigated his way through five innings. He allowed three runs, but the Dodgers tagged Nationals ace Max Scherzer for four behind early home runs from Corey Seager and Justin Turner.

It wasn’t the pitcher’s duel promised, but both bullpens kept the score low. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen shut the door with a five-out save to give Los Angeles the 1-0 series lead.

Washington will look to even the score on Saturday afternoon behind Tanner Roark, who will face Dodgers southpaw Rich Hill at Nationals Park.

Notable Stats

W: Clayton Kershaw (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)

L: Max Sherzer (6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR)

SV: Kenley Jansen (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)

HR: Corey Seager (1st inning off Scherzer), Justin Turner (3rd inning off Scherzer)

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Following a tight Wild Card Game, the 2016 National League Division Series is set to kick off Friday with a doubleheader featuring a quartet of legitimate aces.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner continued his otherworldly postseason dominance with a complete-game shutout against the New York Mets on Wednesday, but the Giants will still trot out a star hurler in Game 1 of the NLDS in Johnny Cueto. The remaining three teams playing Friday are also expected to send out top-options, which could make for some low-scoring affairs.

Take a look below at the Game 1 start times, in addition to the television and live streaming schedules, for the NLDS. The full 2016 MLB playoff schedule can be found at MLB.com.

One would be hard-pressed to find a heavyweight pitching matchup like the one expected at Nationals Park, as Clayton Kershaw will battle Max Scherzer.

Kershaw is well established as arguably the premier arm in the game, and he was on his way towards a possible fourth Cy Young honor before a back injury hampered his 2016 season. He was 11-2 with 1.79 ERA before he missed the entire months of July and August. Kershaw went 1-2 in five starts since his return on Sept. 9, but he only allowed four earned runs in that span. 

The 28-year-old finished with 172 strikeouts and a staggering 11 walks allowed, which gives him the best such ratio ever for a starting pitcher, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Scherzer was certainly comparable, finishing 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA while leading the majors with 284 strikeouts. This put Scherzer, who is challenging for his second ever Cy Young Award and first in the NL, in historic company as well, which MLB Network’s Jon Morosi noted with some help from the network’s research team:

However, both pitchers have not brought their best stuff in the postseason. 

Kershaw is 2-6 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 playoff appearances. He put together a decent run with a 1-1 mark and a 2.63 ERA in two starts last year, but he posted ERAs of over 6.00 in the 2013 and 2014 postseasons.

Scherzer is 4-3 with a decent 3.73 ERA in 12 appearances, but he was rocked for five earned runs in his last playoff start in 2014. Each star will be looking to make a statement on Friday, which could result in a fierce pitching duel.

As for the late game, Cueto takes the hill as he looks to bring his solid playoff performance with Kansas City last season to the Giants. He takes on a bonafide ace in Jon Lester, who finished second in the majors this season behind teammate Kyle Hendricks with a 2.44 ERA.

In his lone start against Chicago this season, Cueto allowed only one run on five hits in seven innings, but he did not earn a decision in the Giants 3-2 loss on Sept. 9. Lester was 1-1 this year against San Francisco, totaling six runs and nine hits allowed in 11.2 innings. He also posted a porous strikeout-to-walk ratio with five punch-outs and five walks.

Getting runners in scoring position could be a difference in this matchup. Cueto sports a 9.82 ERA in 44 innings pitched with runners in scoring position in 2016, while Lester posted a 7.44 mark in 42.1 innings pitched.

Both teams were mediocre in this category offensively. The Cubs finished 21st in the majors with a .252 team batting average with runners in scoring position, while San Francisco came in a spot behind the Cubs with a .250 mark.

With Cueto having inferior numbers in this situation than Lester, and with Chicago being marginally better here at the plate, the Cubs should have a slight edge Friday at Wrigley Field.

Statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.

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The National League is the Chicago Cubs’ to lose.

There are no locks in MLB‘s postseason, especially during the best-of-five division stage. Yet there’s no argument over which club is best positioned to reach the World Series.

During a dominant season, the 103-58 Cubs outscored opponents by 252 runs led by rightful NL MVP favorite Kris Bryant. Only the Boston Red Sox and Coors Field-fueled Colorado Rockies scored more runs. The Cubs also allowed an MLB-low 3.4 runs per game with help from a deep rotation and baseball’s best defense.

They will open their postseason Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, who rode ace Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday’s 3-0 Wild Card Game victory over the New York Mets. A heavy favorite to run the table, per Odds Shark, Chicago gets a San Francisco squad that crawled to the finish line after a strong first half.

If the Cubs take care of business, they would then challenge the winner of the Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series. Although that National League Division Series matchup is much more even, the Nationals are hobbling into the playoffs without at least two key contributors.

After we look at the NLDS schedule and updated World Series odds, let’s take a deeper dive into the Dodgers-Nationals slate.

NLDS Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals

This isn’t going to be a fun series for hitters.

Then again, we could say the same about the entire National League bracket. All five postseason participants finished 2016 atop MLB’s team-ERA leaderboard:

The Dodgers’ pitching also registered a record-setting 1,510 strikeouts this season. Second on the all-time ledger? The 2016 Nationals, who collected 1,476 behind Max Scherzer’s MLB-high 284.

Some young pitchers are sacrificing longevity for whiffs. Not Scherzer, who sported a 0.97 WHIP through 228.1 innings. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports noted the historical significance of the Nationals ace’s stat line:

He should take the mound in Friday’s opening game. In an interview on ESPN Radio’s McNabb & Custer, via ESPN.com, Nationals manager Dusty Baker ruled out Stephen Strasburg in the NLDS due to a strained flexor mass in his pitching elbow.

Even though Strasburg coughed up six runs to the Dodgers in their only encounter of the season, his absence is a huge blow for Washington. Gio Gonzalez relinquished 19 runs in September, putting the rotation in doubt after Scherzer and likely Game 2 starter Tanner Roark.

It doesn’t help that the Dodgers will counter Scherzer with Clayton Kershaw.

Missing over two months didn’t stop the Dodgers ace from tying Noah Syndergaard for the highest WAR (6.5) among all pitchers. If not for his back injury, he would unanimously win the NL Cy Young Award with one of the greatest lines of all time.

For those who were worried about how he would return, he’s the same old Kershaw. In five starts off the disabled list, the star southpaw has a 1.29 ERA with 27 strikeouts and two walks over 28 innings.

Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt praised his ace to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:

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The San Francisco Giants’ even-year magic continued Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over the New York Mets in the National League Wild Card Game.

Madison Bumgarner thwarted the Mets lineup with a complete-game shutout, and Conor Gillaspie shared the glory with a three-run homer in the ninth inning against New York’s closer, Jeurys Familia. San Francisco is attempting to add another World Series title to its resume after championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and the win in Citi Field was the first step.

Next up is a showdown with the Chicago Cubs in the Division Series.

Bumgarner already has a World Series MVP trophy to his name, and he added to his postseason legacy by outdueling Noah Syndergaard in a showdown between aces. Syndergaard went seven innings and didn’t allow a single run, but his 10 strikeouts drove up his pitch count to 108. He was forced to turn the ball over to the bullpen, and it didn’t deliver in the pressure-packed moment.

The Giants star finished what he started and allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out six. Trey Wingo of ESPN noted how incredible he has been in the playoffs:

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the fact the Giants are nearly unstoppable with their backs against the wall:

Even though Bumgarner was brilliant, he needed some run support. Gillaspie had just six home runs all season, but Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball said unheralded players who come through in the clutch are nothing new for this team:

The game was billed as a pitcher’s duel, and that is exactly how it started. Bumgarner and Syndergaard combined to retire the first 12 batters through two innings, but Jon Tayler of Sports Illustrated noted the Mets were failing in their early aggression: 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was a career start for the San Francisco southpaw:

Bumgarner lost his perfect game when Rene Rivera singled to lead off the third, but he induced a double play from James Loney in the next at-bat. Syndergaard’s perfect bid ended in the fourth when he walked Denard Span, but Span was thrown out stealing during the next San Francisco at-bat.

While it appeared as if Span beat the throw, the out stood even after replay review. Ryan Baker of CBS Chicago reacted to the questionable call:

New York went scoreless in the bottom half of the frame, but it at least made Bumgarner work with 28 pitches after he threw 21 pitches in the first three innings combined.

The Mets again rallied in the fifth, but it was to no avail. T.J. Rivera doubled to lead things off, but Bumgarner escaped the jam with two strikeouts and a groundout. Syndergaard had the chance to help himself with two runners on and two outs, but he struck out to end the inning.

He helped himself on the mound with another scoreless frame in the sixth, but he lost his no-hitter when Span singled with two outs. He nearly lost the shutout on a towering drive from Brandon Belt after Span stole second, but Curtis Granderson made a spectacular catch as he ran into the center-field wall.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com underscored the play’s importance:

San Francisco threatened again in the seventh and put two runners on with a Brandon Crawford walk and infield single from Angel Pagan. However, Syndergaard induced a groundout from Joe Panik to escape trouble and maintain the scoreless tie.

As unhittable as he was, Syndergaard was lifted for Addison Reed to start the eighth. Inside Edge pointed out just how overpowering the fireballer was before exiting:

The first bullpen inning was filled with drama, as San Francisco loaded the bases with a Gillaspie single and walks from Belt and Buster Posey. Belt’s walk included a handful of borderline pitches that left Dallas Braden of ESPN suggesting there were four or five strikes in the at-bat, but Reed emerged unscathed with a strikeout of Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner threw another shutout inning in the eighth, and the Giants finally did some offensive damage in the ninth. Crawford doubled off Familia to start things off, and Panik drew a walk. That’s when Gillaspie drilled his home run and sent the Citi Field crowd into stunned silence. 

Jon Morosi of MLB Network pointed out how unlikely a journey it was for Gillaspie:

Bumgarner finished it from there and sent the Giants to the Division Series.

What’s Next?

Next up for the Giants is a clash with the 103-58 Cubs, who finished with the best record in all of baseball. 

Chicago does have something of a leg up in the starting pitching matchups because Bumgarner threw a complete game Wednesday. Cy Young candidates Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester anchor the staff alongside last year’s Cy Young winner, Jake Arrieta, and will prove a formidable foe for San Francisco.

The Giants will also have to deal with a powerful lineup that includes potential NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. If they do so successfully, they will be on track to win yet another World Series title in an even year.

As for the Mets, they will begin a long offseason after failing to live up to expectations following their 2015 National League pennant. Injuries were an issue, as they lost Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz for the season, so returning to health will be a priority. So will bringing back Yoenis Cespedes, who has a player opt-out clause in his contract, per Spotrac. 

Postgame Reaction

Syndergaard said, “Right now, it kind of stings,” when talking about the loss, per Marc Carig of Newsday.

Mets outfielder Jay Bruce put things in perspective despite the narrow defeat, per Carig: “That epitomized playoff baseball.”

The Giants shared footage of the team greeting Gillaspie in celebratory fashion:

Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area noted Span “said [the] game plan against Syndergaard became to get his pitch count up because he was ‘literally unhittable.’”

That plan worked, and Bumgarner delivered on the mound. Journalist Andrew Baggarly noted pitcher Jake Peavy “said [Bumgarner] was calm in a crazy dugout after [the] Gillaspie HR. [Bumgarner] simply walked up and said, ‘Conor, I appreciate the hell out of that.’”

Posey described his pitcher’s outing, per SportsCenter: “He’s got a focus that is hard to describe. To me, this ranks right up there with his postseason performances.”

The Giants will need that focus as they prepare for the Cubs, but they earned the right to celebrate Wednesday.

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If the San Francisco Giants (87-75) are going to win their fourth World Series title in seven years, they will need to get through the defending National League champions first on Wednesday when they visit the New York Mets (87-75) in the Wild Card Game.

The matchup is listed as a pick’em at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, with each team hoping its ace can do the job and earn a shot at the Chicago Cubs.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA) was the MVP of the 2014 World Series, but he actually posted the lowest ERA and highest strikeout total (251) of his career this year.

Bumgarner forms a dangerous one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Johnny Cueto, who won the World Series last year with the Kansas City Royals. However, Bumgarner was not as good on the road with a 6-5 mark and 3.39 ERA, although he went 2-0 against the Mets in two starts this season with a 3.27 ERA.

On the other side, New York’s Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60) is also coming off a career year and has the role of staff leader due to injuries to Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz.

How far the Mets would be able to go in the postseason without deGrom and Matz remains to be seen, but Syndergaard has proven he can carry a heavy load. He went 6-6 with a 2.87 ERA at Citi Field this year and 1-1 versus San Francisco in two starts with a 2.63 ERA. The Giants hit only .159 against him in those outings.

The teams split a four-game series in San Francisco between August 18 and 21, with New York winning two of three at home the only other time they met in 2016 between April 29 and May 1. Despite the quality of pitching in this matchup, the total has surprisingly gone over in six of the past seven meetings according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

In fact, a 6-0 over streak ended on August 21 when Syndergaard blanked the Giants for eight innings in a 2-0 road win for the Mets, allowing just two hits on 98 pitches with two walks and six strikeouts. Both lag behind on the odds to win the World Series, with New York listed at +1800 and San Francisco at +2200.

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With the three National League division races wrapped up and the top record in the league already well in hand, the remaining drama in the dwindling days of the 2016 regular season stems from the wild-card race.

The Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers have already clinched the NL Central, East and West, respectively, with the former pacing the majors with 101 wins and counting. 

As for the NL wild-card spots, the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants would make the playoffs if the season ended after Tuesday night’s action, but the St. Louis Cardinals are still in the hunt, just a game behind the Giants. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins are out of the chase as of Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the key NL standings heading into Wednesday. 

The three teams leading the NL wild-card chase won on Tuesday night, keeping the drama very much alive as the season winds to a close.

After losing 7-3 to the Miami Marlins on Monday in the series opener—as emotional a game as you’ll see due to it being the Marlins’ first since the tragic death of 24-year-old starting pitcher Jose Fernandez—the Mets rebounded to beat the exhausted home side 12-1 on Tuesday. 

Noah Syndergaard struck out eight in six innings of work, while Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes each hit two-run homers. The Mets have one more game against Miami before a travel day to face the lowly Philadelphia Phillies to close out the season. 

The Giants remain a game ahead of the Cardinals and a half-game behind the Mets, courtesy of a 12-3 walloping of the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. After heading into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors, the Giants have been a disaster in the latter half of the season, with an implosion-prone bullpen perhaps the biggest culprit. 

San Francisco is trying to avoid a special kind of history by clinging to a wild-card spot, as journalist Wendy Thurm noted earlier in September: 

That spectacular first-half cushion this turbulent team built up has them in the playoff hunt with five games left to play. Though all five games are at home, the last three won’t be easy. The Giants have to play the rival Dodgers, who might still be looking to secure home-field advantage in the NLDS by surpassing the Nationals in the standings.

If the Giants do get into the playoffs, they can only hope that even-year magic miraculously takes over and saves them from getting bounced immediately from the postseason competition. 

The Cardinals kept up in the chase with a 12-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The key moment of the game was a fourth-inning grand slam from shortstop Aledmys Diaz, playing with a heavy heart after the death of Fernandez, a close friend. 

Here’s a look at Diaz‘s first career grand slam, per the MLB: 

“He just had a purpose,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “He was doing something with a purpose. His mind was somewhere else, but in a good place.”

According to Nightengale, Diaz grew up with Fernandez in Cuba and spent Monday visiting the pitcher’s grieving family before returning to St. Louis to help his team close out the season. 

The Cardinals, who won 100 games last season and reached the NLCS, close out the regular season with two more games against the Reds and a three-game series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were eliminated from the playoff race on Tuesday, after losing 6-4 to the Cubs and seeing the Giants prevail against the Rockies.

Though they have been prone to sparring in the postseason in recent years, the Cardinals will be hoping the Dodgers can help them out by taking a game or two from San Francisco and allowing them to reach the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.

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The Chicago Cubs are hearing footsteps, and they’re coming from the West.

Yes, the Cubs still own MLB‘s best run differential at plus-155. And they still have the best winning percentage in baseball.

On Sunday, however, the San Francisco Giants won their 49th game. At 49-28, San Francisco now has one more victory than the Cubs, who have dropped six of their last seven and sit at 48-26.

That may seem academic, and in a way, it is. They don’t hand out trophies based on late-June win totals.

But the surging Giants—who have won 13 of their last 15—are looking increasingly capable of challenging Chicago for National League supremacy.

This is the part where we’re obligated to mention it’s an even year. In 2010, 2012 and 2014, that meant orange and black confetti cascading down Market Street.

This isn’t about numerical anomalies, though. This is about a San Francisco squad that has weathered injuries and ridden shutdown top-of-the-rotation pitching to, if not the top of the heap, at least somewhere in the vicinity.

It begins with Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, a two-headed lefty/right monster and arguably the best starting duo in the game.

Cueto took a no-decision in Sunday’s seesaw, 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, coughing up six earned runs in six innings. Still, at 11-1 with a 2.42 ERA, he’s putting together an ace-like campaign in his first season by the Bay.

Bumgarner, the Giants’ decorated postseason horse, owns an even stingier 1.99 ERA and has fanned 122 in 108.1 innings, putting him on pace to record a career-best 10.1 strikeouts per nine-innings. 

Behind them, Jeff Samardzija sports an 8-4 record and 3.59 ERA one season after leading both leagues in hits, earned runs and home runs allowed with the Chicago White Sox.

Some of the credit for Samardzija’s resurgence—and the Giants’ current fortunes in general—belongs to the best team defense in baseball.

Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford stands out, but San Francisco has plus defenders scattered all over the field and Buster Posey—MLB’s pre-eminent pitch-framer, per StatCorner—behind the dish.

Offensively, the loss of right fielder Hunter Pence to a hamstring surgery and third baseman Matt Duffy to an Achilles injury have dinged the Giants.

But they’ve gotten an unexpected lift from the likes of journeyman infielder Ramiro Pena, who has supplanted Duffy and is hitting .400 in 25 at-bats.

That’s where the even-year talk creeps in, the sense that the Giants will simply find a way to win in years divisible by two.

But with core contributors such as first baseman Brandon Belt (.306 average, .941 OPS), Posey (.285 average, .806 OPS) and Crawford (.262 average, 44 RBI) leading the way, this offense is far more than smoke and mirrors. 

There are question marks at the back of the rotation, with Matt Cain on the disabled list and veteran Jake Peavy toting an unsightly 5.22 ERA despite a run of recent positive results.

The bullpen, too, has wobbled at times, and the Giants could look for relief reinforcements at the trade deadline. They might also go shopping for an outfield bat, though that will be less of a priority if Pence keeps progressing in his recovery.

The Cubs remain a juggernaut, recent mini-slump aside. They’re third in the National League—and ahead of the Giants—in runs scored and OPS, and they pace baseball in ERA. They’re still young, still hungry and still loaded.

ESPN The Magazine‘s Buster Olney placed San Francisco third in his most recent power rankings, behind both Chicago and the 49-27 Texas Rangers:

Remember, though, the Giants took two out of three from the Cubs in May, when Chicago was rolling with a full head of steam. And while the Cubs threw out co-aces Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester in that series, the Giants used neither Cueto nor former Cub Samardzija.  

Circle your calendars for Sept. 1, then, when the two teams kick off a four-game set at Wrigley Field that should be ripe with playoff implications.

Yes, a lot can—and will—happen between now and then. Based on what we’ve seen so far, however, that figures to be a titanic clash.

Other Senior Circuit contenders such as the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals will have their say. But that September showdown could well be a National League Championship Series preview. 

Fittingly, Sunday’s win wasn’t merely the one that edged the Giants ahead of the Cubs. It was also the 800th victory of manager Bruce Bochy’s San Francisco tenure. More than anyone outside of Posey and Bumgarner, Bochy has been the backbone of the team’s championship troika.  

“They trust everybody,” Pena said after doubling and scoring the winning run Sunday, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. “Bochy says we trust all the young guys and the guys in Triple-A who get called up to the big leagues. They trust everybody here.”

Now, the Cubs had better trust this: Those footsteps are real. The Giants are coming.

All statistics current as of June 26 and courtesy of MLB.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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The New York Mets are chasing an improbable and long-awaited postseason run, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have some making up to do for last year. When the 2015 National League Division Series is settled, one of the two will head home disappointed.

It’s already been a groundbreaking season for the Mets, who’s preseason aspirations were finally fulfilled. They earned their first NL East title since 2006 and just their second since the 1980s. They are built to end a nearly 30-year World Series drought.

They’ll have to rise up against a comparably talented team, though, as the Dodgers look poised to make up for their disappointing 2014 playoff exit and perhaps get another crack at the St. Louis Cardinals.

The early part of the week is set for wild-card showdowns, but it won’t be long until the Mets and Dodgers face off. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.

2015 NLDS Schedule: Dodgers vs. Mets

Note: Game times will be posted when released at MLB.com.

Preview

Take all of the battles of top pitching staffs in postseasons past and throw them out, because this one is likely to take the cake.

Up to six of the 10 best pitchers in baseball today could get the ball in this series. With the New York Mets’ four-headed monster on the mound and the Dodgers’ peerless duo, though, it’s not hard to see where the advantage lies.

The Mets have a group of pitchers tossing at a level that hasn’t really been seen on the same team before. Bartolo Colon, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard all look like top-flight starters who can will the Mets to a win.

The stats show it, as they became the first team ever to boast four pitchers with more than 150 innings and a strikeout-to-walk ratio over five, as Erik Malinowski of Sports on Earth observed:

Obviously, the Mets have a number of directions they could go with the ball in Game 1, but they’re choosing to go with deGrom. His 2.54 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and over 200 strikeouts are incredible numbers that he can only hope to build on against the Dodgers’ bats.

He spoke with reporters about how he’s preparing for the madness, per the Mets’ Twitter account:

The Dodgers will have a much more established ace on the mound in Game 1, as Clayton Kershaw will get the chance to improve his postseason reputation. He’s become known for coming up short in the playoffs, after almost unbelievable regular seasons.

Kershaw will get to start the series, but perhaps the Dodgers’ best pitcher—at least this year—will be on the mound for Game 2. Zack Greinke is that man, and Kershaw hasn’t been shy on heaping praise toward him, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

Both teams have bats capable of going off at any time, as Yoenis Cespedes has revitalized the Mets and the Dodgers have a stacked their lineup with RBI machines. But both teams have been no-hit this year and can be shut down by top pitching.

That makes it even more apparent that this series will be decided on the mound. And considering the strengths of these two teams, there’s no more fitting way for it to be decided.

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A hotly contested topic among the baseball world in the past week (and for quite some time now) has been whether or not the National League should change its rules to institute the use of the designated hitter. The American League adopted the DH in 1973, yet the Senior Circuit has remained surprisingly resilient through the years.

However, National League owners may be under increased pressure to make a change.

The debate was jump-started when St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, one of the elite starting pitchers in the MLB, tore his Achilles tendon running out of the batter’s box after putting the ball in play. The club announced that he would miss the rest of the season, which is a crippling blow to a St. Louis squad trying to advance to the NLCS for the fifth consecutive year.

Washington Nationals hurler Max Scherzer was the first to rally behind Wainwright’s banner. He told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that he would not be opposed to bringing the DH to the National League, saying that it would be a great way to increase scoring and make the game more entertaining.

“If you look at it from the macro side, who’d people rather see hit—Big Papi or me?” Scherzer said. “Who would people rather see, a real hitter hitting home runs or a pitcher swinging a wet newspaper? Both leagues need to be on the same set of rules.”

This logic makes sense from Mad Max—having a designated hitter batting instead of a pitcher would make the game more fun to watch and ostensibly give the fans more bang for their buck. But his initial claims were met with a flurry of other opinions, and most weren’t in agreement with his.

Madison Bumgarner was the first to publicly disagree. The San Francisco Giants left-hander also happens to be one of the best hitting pitchers in the league, and he was not afraid to come down hard on Scherzer.

This was his comment to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News about the Wainwright injury and the possibility of the DH entering National League play:

What if he got hurt pitching? Should we say he can’t pitch anymore? I hate what happened to him. He works his butt off out there. But I don’t think it was because he was hitting. What if he gets hurt getting out of his truck? You tell him not to drive anymore? That’s the way the game has to be played. I appreciate both sides of the argument and I get it. But [ending pitcher plate appearances] isn’t the way to go about [addressing] it.

That is an excellent point as well. It was an Achilles injury that Wainwright suffered. If that part of his body was going to tear, it could have been anywhere. He could just as easily have injured it pitching off the mound or covering first base as he did jogging out of the box.

One of Bumgarner‘s teammates, Jake Peavy, gave another reason why the designated hitter must stay away. He began by talking about a situation last year when Bumgarner hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Zack Greinke in the eighth inning. It was late in the season in a crucial situation, and manager Bruce Bochy didn’t have to go to a pinch hitter and then a reliever. 

“We have a distinct advantage because of what he can do at the plate,” Peavy said, per Baggarly. “We’d take a ton of strategy out of our game. The bench player is so much more important a part of the game. Managers have their say in how the game is played out.

“As pitchers, it’s about taking pride in batting and baserunning and getting a bunt down or putting it in play. If you do that better than the other pitcher, you’ve got an advantage.”

For Scherzer, even his own general manager is not on his side. Nationals GM Mike Rizzo—who gave Scherzer a $210 million contract this offseason—went on record against the DH earlier this week.

Rizzo was very adamant on a Wednesday radio appearance he made on 106.7 The Fan that he will never favor the DH.

I hate the DH. I always have hated the DH. I would hate to see the DH in the National League, and I love the National League brand of baseball. Now, I worked with the Chicago White Sox for years, and the Boston Red Sox for years in the American League, and I’m a much bigger fan of the National League style of play, with the pitcher pitching and all the strategy that that employs. 

That’s my favorite part of this whole argument. The phrase “the strategy it employs.” Personally, that is one of the things I enjoy about the game of baseball. The managers competing in a chess match throughout the ballgame is arguably the most compelling thing about baseball and the main reason I like the National League better than the American League.

In the American League, the manager does not have nearly as many factors to worry about, most notably pinch hitting for the pitcher. To illustrate this, I’ll introduce a common situation in baseball. 

Let’s say Team A is winning by two runs in the seventh inning and the pitcher is due up next with runners on first and second with one out. The manager has a tough decision on his hands: Does he leave the pitcher in the game to pitch another inning even though it likely means they won’t tack on any runs that inning, or does he elect to use a pinch hitter in an attempt to add some cushion to the lead even though that move will result in leaning heavily on the bullpen to finish the game?

An American League manager is never faced with this dilemma. All he has to do is monitor the pitcher, and when he gets tired or ineffective, put in a reliever.

The Junior Circuit also does not incorporate nearly as many situational pitching changes or as much bunting as the National League does.

Now some fans don’t really care much about some of the finer points of the game—they prefer to see guys hit the ball as far as they can in high-scoring games, and that is perfectly fine. They can stick with the American League, but the NL does not need to change its rulebook to satisfy those fans.

The final witness in this trial is someone who should know better than anyone. Cubs manager Joe Maddon has spent time in both leagues, and even though he has only been in Chicago for a few months, he has already adapted the National League style of play and is against bringing the DH to the NL.

“That’s part of the game,” Maddon said, via the Chicago Tribune, about Wainwright’s injury. “That’s the way it works. It’s unfortunate. It stinks. I like the National League the way it sets. It’s a really interesting baseball game.”

Ultimately, it will be up to NL owners on whether or not they eventually adopt the DH. They might do it sometime in the future, but they don’t need to. Their brand of baseball is more of a traditional style of play, and contrary to popular belief there are still some old-fashioned baseball fans out there who have the attention spans to watch an entire game even if substitutions and pitching changes are involved.

In my opinion, the game is much better with all nine fielders hitting for themselves. It forces players to be more well-rounded, and it makes it more interesting from a strategy standpoint. Also, it results in more intriguing scouting, as pitchers handy with the bat continue to become more and more rare. As the Giants do right now with Bumgarner, NL teams with pitchers who can hit have a tremendous advantage over their opponents, and that is nothing to sneeze at.

Either way, this is a very polarizing debate. Each side has its pros and cons, and baseball pundits, coaches and players are obviously not afraid to state their case.

Bumgarner, Peavy, Rizzo and Maddon are for the DH staying the heck away from the National League, and I wholeheartedly agree with their arguments.

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