The best team of the regular season against the reigning champion: Los Angeles Dodgers against Chicago Cubs is the duel in the NLCS, it’s about entering the World Series.The Dodgers are taking revenge for last year’s 2-4 defeat.SPOX examines the chances of both teams.
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Initial situation: The counterparties’ Division Series could not have proceeded more differently.The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Arizona Diamondbacks while the Chicago Cubs eliminated the Washington Nationals over five intense games.
The Dodgers never had any serious problems in the first playoff round.Match one and two were won 9-5 and 8-5 before a tighter game in Chase Field in Arizona.But a solid performance by pitcher Yu Darvish and a strong performance by Rookie Cody Bellinger put the 3-1 away win, the first sweep since the NLDS in 2009, against the St. Paul’s side.Louis Cardinals safe.
In contrast, the path of the Cubs was extremely exhausting.Game 1 was robbed with strong pitching 3-0 before a late homerun by Bryce Harper the following day.With patience, the Cubs regained the lead with a 2-1 win in Game 3, but the Washington Nationals snatched Game 4 from Wrigley Field 5-0 thanks to a stunning Stephen Strasburg, who was held back by weather conditions.
Chicago eventually narrowly won out in one of the most exciting deciders in division series history.The Cubs won Game 5, which was dotted with many highs and lows, 9:8, but they needed seven pitcher games.
The balance sheet from the Regular Season speaks for the Dodgers, they won the direct duels 4-2.The Cubs only managed eleven runs over the six games, but the three series took place in April and May long before the Chicago Offense really got going.Nevertheless, it is clear that the Dodgers have lost fewer games than any other team in the regular season.
Players to watch: The starter for the Dodgers in Game 1 is Clayton Kershaw.Kershaw is actually the spearhead of the Dodgers rotation, but in his previous playoffs the Texan has always been extremely nervous.Especially in the darned seventh innings Kershaw pitched in the postseason (five times), he allowed twelve hits, six walks and 14 runs.In the NLDS against Arizona, Kershaw got the win in his start, but had to accept over 6 1/3 innings four runs.Does Kershaw get a convincing performance in the playoffs this time?
On the other hand, the cubs pitching unit bones five intense and close matches against Washington.Whoever will be on the Mound in Game 1 will not be in full possession of his powers: Kyle Hendricks started Game 5 of the NLCS, where Jose Quintana had a short relief appearance, Jake Arrieta was in Game 4 together with Jon Lester.
The Cubs’ hopes rest on the offense surrounding MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.In the last three games, however, the two of them only managed to score two hits together, they have to improve significantly if they want to have a chance against the Dodgers.The champions, however, have played a strong offense especially since the All-Star break, and have scored the most runs of all teams in this time span.
On the other hand, Rookie Cody Bellinger has made a strong start to his first postseason.In match 3 against the Dbacks, he convinced with a home run and a spectacular catch over the dugout railing.He doesn’t seem to like the pressure situation very much, with 39 home runs he also beat most of the dodgers in the regular season.
The Bullpens are well positioned on both sides.Both the Dodgers (Kenley Jansen) and the Cubs (Wade Davis) have one of the best closers in the leagues, behind them the teams are not outstanding, but solid and equal.
Prognosis: The Dodgers are more rested, look more complete and have probably the somewhat stronger pitcher.So it’s all in favour of the Blue Crew, but the defending champion was also put into the role of the outsider against Washington.From game to game, the spirit of last year will once again be anchored more firmly in the minds of the Cubs, making them a tough opponent.But in the end, however, the Dodgers succeed and reach their first World Series since 1988.Dodgers in six.
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.