October 15, 2017

Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs have bad day at the office in Game 1 of NLCS vs. Dodgers https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-have-bad-day-at-the-office-in-game-1-of-nlcs-vs-dodgers/

Chicago Sun-Times, Dodger pitchers wear out Cubs to take NLCS opener at Dodger Stadium https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/dodger-pitchers-wear-out-cubs-to-take-nlcs-opener-at-dodger-stadium/

Chicago Sun-Times, MORRISSEY: Jose Quintana stays focused despite long, scary journey https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/morrissey-jose-quintana-stays-focused-despite-long-scary-journey/

Chicago Sun-Times, With a few more playoff ‘nuts,’ is Arrieta the next free agent Lester? https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/with-a-few-more-playoff-nuts-is-free-agent-arrieta-the-next-lester/

Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs’ push gets 2016 World Series ring removed from auction site https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-2016-world-series-ring-removed-from-auction-site/

Chicago Sun-Times, Game 2 starter Jon Lester dead-set on giving Cubs whatever they need https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-jon-lester-to-face-dodgers-rich-hill-in-sundays-game-2-of-nlcs/

Chicago Sun-Times, Quintana wife’s health issue diverted Cubs plane to New Mexico https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/report-quintana-wifes-irregular-heartbeat-reason-cubs-landed-in-n-m/

Chicago Sun-Times, Culberson softens blow, but Dodgers hurting without Corey Seager https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/dodgers-all-star-shortstop-corey-seager-left-off-nlcs-roster/

Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs make one roster change, name Quintana to start NLCS opener https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-make-one-roster-change-name-quintana-starter-for-nlcs-opener/

Daily Herald, 3 questions for Chicago Cubs before tonight's NLCS Game 2 http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20171015/3-questions-for-chicago-cubs-before-tonights-nlcs-game-2

Daily Herald, Chicago Cubs lose Game 1 of NLCS to Dodgers 5-2 http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20171014/chicago-cubs-lose-game-1-of-nlcs-to-dodgers-5-2

Daily Herald, Lester, Hill will square off in Game 2 of NLCS http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20171014/lester-hill-will-square-off-in-game-2-of-nlcs

Daily Herald, Rozner: Chicago Cubs' bullpen implodes again in Game 1 defeat http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20171014/rozner-chicago-cubs-bullpen-implodes-again-in-game-1-defeat

Daily Herald, Back injury sidelines Dodgers' Seager vs. Chicago Cubs http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20171014/back-injury-sidelines-dodgers-seager-vs-chicago-cubs

Cubs.com, Lead slips away from Cubs in NLCS Game 1 http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258576100/taylor-puig-homer-in-dodgers-win-over-cubs/

Cubs.com, Cubs' bullpen struggles carry over to NLCS http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258621708/cubs-bullpen-struggles-continue-in-nlcs/

Cubs.com, Maddon ejected after overturned call at plate http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258596338/cubs-joe-maddon-ejected-in-game-1-of-nlcs/

Cubs.com, Almora stands tall on big stage with 2-run shot http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258608352/cubs-albert-almora-jr-hits-two-run-homer/

Cubs.com, Feeling great, Lester ready for NLCS Game 2 http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258567202/cubs-jon-lester-to-start-nlcs-game-2/

Cubs.com, Quintana focused after wife's health improves http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258581466/quintanas-wife-ok-after-falling-ill-on-plane/

Cubs.com, Cubs turn to Lester as they aim to even NLCS http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258614560/cubs-turn-to-lester-as-they-aim-to-even-nlcs

Cubs.com, Cubs to start Hendricks in G3; Arrieta in G4 http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/258592020/cubs-name-hendricks-arrieta-starters-for-nlcs/

ESPNChicago.com, Starting pitchers do matter in October! Why the Hill-Lester matchup is so important http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/83733/starting-pitchers-do-matter-in-october-why-hill-lester-matchup-is-so-important

ESPNChicago.com, Your guide to Game 2 of the NLCS -- Cubs look to Lester to even series http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21023844/your-guide-sunday-lcs-game-cubs-look-lester-even-series

ESPNChicago.com, Cubs still can't find the winning card to play out of vulnerable bullpen http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/46146/cubs-still-cant-find-the-winning-card-to-play-out-of-vulnerable-bullpen

ESPNChicago.com, With Puig leading the way, Dodgers remind Cubs (and Kershaw) this isn't 2016 http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/83698/with-puig-leading-the-way-dodgers-remind-cubs-and-kershaw-this-isnt-2016

ESPNChicago.com, Joe Maddon tossed, likens home plate collision rule to Chicago's 'soda tax' http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21026175/manager-joe-maddon-ejected-arguing-overturned-call-plate-goes-chicago-cubs

ESPNChicago.com, Dodgers leave Corey Seager off NLCS roster due to back injury http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21021626/los-angeles-dodgers-leave-injured-shortstop-corey-seager-nlcs-roster

NBC Sports Chicago, 5 depressing stats that highlight Cubs' postseason struggles http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/5-depressing-stats-highlight-cubs-postseason-struggles-nlcs-bullpen-offense-dodgers

NBC Sports Chicago, Jose Quintana matched Clayton Kershaw after Cubs diverted plane for his wife’s medical condition http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/jose-quintana-matched-clayton-kershaw-after-cubs-diverted-plane-his-wifes-medical-condition

NBC Sports Chicago, Joe Maddon flips out, comparing MLB home-plate rule to Chicago soda tax http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/joe-maddon-flips-out-comparing-mlb-home-plate-rule-chicago-soda-tax

NBC Sports Chicago, 5 takeaways from Game 1: Dodgers embrace the target, take aim at Cubs http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/5-takeaways-cubs-game-1-loss-dodgers-kershaw-quintana-nlcs-maddon

NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs NLCS rotation makes sense, even if it looks weird http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-nlcs-rotation-makes-sense-even-if-it-looks-weird-arrieta-hendricks-dodgers

NBC Sports Chicago, Already pushed to the limit, Cubs need Wade Davis to be calm in middle of storm vs. Dodgers http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/already-pushed-limit-cubs-need-wade-davis-be-calm-middle-storm-vs-dodgers

Chicago Tribune, Bullpen's failure, Joe Maddon's decisions cost Cubs more than play at plate http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-haugh-cubs-dodgers-nlcs-game-1-spt-1015-20171014-column.html

Chicago Tribune, Cubs bullpen struggles again in NLCS-opening loss to Dodgers http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-wade-davis-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, 8 pivotal moments from Cubs' 5-2 loss to Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-pivotal-moments-spt-1015-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Walks, relief woes resurface for Cubs in NLCS Game 1 loss to Dodgers http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-dodgers-spt-1015-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Cubs bats don't pop, but Joe Maddon does during and after Game 1 of NLCS http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-joe-maddon-pops-after-loss-sullivan-spt-1015-20171014-column.html

Chicago Tribune, Joe Maddon plays a hunch with decision to start Kyle Schwarber http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-kyle-schwarber-starts-clayton-kershaw-spt-1015-20171014-story.html#nt=oft03a-1gp3

Chicago Tribune, NLCS Game 1 turning point: Chris Taylor's home run off Hector Rondon http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-turning-point-spt-1015-20171014-story.html#nt=oft03a-1gp3

Chicago Tribune, Cubs name Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta as NLCS Games 3-4 starters http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-kyle-hendricks-jake-arrieta-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, NLCS Game 2 starters: Jon Lester vs. Rich Hill http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-nlcs-game-2-pitching-matchup-spt-1015-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Scott Boras makes case for Cubs to re-sign client Jake Arrieta after season http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jake-arrieta-free-agency-cubs-notes-spt-1015-20171014-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Get ready for some late nights: MLB announces start times for rest of NLCS http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-dodgers-nlcs-start-times-20171014-story.html

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs have bad day at the office in Game 1 of NLCS vs. Dodgers By Rick Telander LOS ANGELES — One game isn’t enough to tell you much, is it? Let’s say no. Because the Dodgers looked a lot better than the Cubs on Saturday in the first game of the National League Championship Series. They looked four-games-to-one better in this series. Maybe sweep-better. They’re a very good team, obviously. They were 55 games above .500 at one point this season and finished with a major-league-best record of 104-58. Oh, and they swept the Diamondbacks in their NL Division Series. Moreover, their 5-2 victory against the Cubs wasn’t as close as it might look from the score. The Cubs went ahead 2-0 on a home run by Albert Almora Jr. in the fourth inning, then sort of faded away. Or maybe they were blown away by the Dodgers’ elite pitching and the bulging muscles on Yasiel Puig’s arms and shoulders. Puig drove in two runs with a double in the fifth and a homer in the seventh. That he admired each blast and clapped for himself in satisfaction when he perhaps should have been sprinting is irrelevant at this point. Puig summed it up best: ‘‘I’m very proud of myself.’’ The other thing that stood out was manager Joe Maddon getting thrown out of the game by second-base umpire Mike Winters for going into a wild tirade over a call at home plate that was reversed in favor of the Dodgers in the seventh. Maddon was furious that the call was overturned — although replays showed Cubs catcher Willson Contreras had his left leg partly extended so it blocked the plate as the Dodgers’ Charlie Culberson slid home — but he was more furious about life inequities. ‘‘From Day 1, I have totally disagreed with the content of that rule,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘I think it’s wrong. Anybody that’s played major-league or even minor-league baseball will agree with me 100 percent on that.’’ Perhaps not the Dodgers after Culberson’s run was allowed. But Maddon was on a philosophical soapbox. ‘‘That gets interpreted kind of like tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago, for me,’’ he said. Interesting. What? ‘‘My point is all rules that are created — or laws — aren’t necessarily good ones,’’ Maddon said. This has been shown to be true through revolution and interpretations made some of the highest courts in the world, often after martyrs have made the ultimate sacrifice. But, dude, we’re talking about sliding in dirt here. The run didn’t even matter because the Cubs had quit scoring by that time. Moreover, you know that if the Cubs had been on reversal side of the play, Maddon wouldn’t have gone all junkyard dog about it.

But it was a bad moment for the Cubs, just as Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen’s dominant closeout was. Jansen goes 6-5 and every ounce of 275 pounds, and he is terrifying to behold. He threw 17 pitches, 14 for strikes, and struck all four men he faced. ‘‘The momentum does switch if that call [at the plate] goes our way,’’ said Almora, who also claimed to be baffled by the rule. ‘‘Just one of those rules that the whole league loves,’’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, oozing sarcasm. Veteran pitcher John Lackey was depressed by modern times. ‘‘It’s sad,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s sad the direction our game’s gone.’’ Maybe the Cubs sense a rough road ahead. Or maybe they’re just hoping the Dodgers aren’t for real. -- Chicago Sun-Times Dodger pitchers wear out Cubs to take NLCS opener at Dodger Stadium By Gordon Wittenmyer LOS ANGELES — Turns out fatigue is the least of the Cubs’ worries in the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. “There’s definitely not an excuse there,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber said after the Cubs’ 5-2 loss Saturday night at Dodger Stadium in the opener of their NLCS rematch. “Everyone was ready,” teammate Anthony Rizzo said. They could have used it as an excuse after a 10-hour travel odyssey from Washington after Thursday night’s Division Series clincher — including a diverted landing in New Mexico because of a health scare involving Game 1 starter Jose Quintana’s wife. In the end, she was fine. And Quintana pitched well. And nobody could blame fatigue when they saw how fast manager Joe Maddon got to ump Lance Barksdale from the dugout after a seventh-inning out at the plate was overturned to give the Dodgers their final run — or how fast he got ejected after an animated, no-chance-to-win tirade. Maddon might have wanted to use that as an excuse, or at least a diversion from some of the facts on display, comparing the controversial rule against blocking the plate to Chicago’s soda tax. But the sizeable task at hand against this year’s 104-win Dodgers was made clear in Game 1. Scoring against the best pitching staff in the league? That’s worth at least a bead of sweat. And plugging a growing number of bullpen leaks? That might be worth changing a shirt or two by the time this series plays out. These are certainly not last year’s Dodgers who retired the final 18 Cubs without much of a peep, between starter Clayton Kershaw and five nasty, hard-throwing relievers. “They went and acquired half the league, I think,” veteran John Lackey said when asked how different the Dodgers’ bullpen looked. “They got a lot of different dudes. They spent a lot of money.”

The Cubs? The comparison can be summed up in two pitches — the first two thrown by Hector Rondon, who was added to the postseason roster Saturday morning after being left off in the NLDS. Taking over for Quintana to start the sixth, Rondon threw a first-pitch ball to Chris Taylor. His second pitch was hit over the wall in right-center for the go-ahead run. “That’s what we brought Hector in for,” Maddon said. “That was a perfect situation for Rondon.” This is certainly not the Aroldis Chapman bullpen the Cubs brought to the dance last October. “The biggest difference [between this year and last] is we have to get our bullpen in order,” Maddon said. For the fifth time in six postseason games, the Cubs got a good starting pitching performance. Quintana responded to a tough emotional turnaround by facing the minimum possible through four, then struck out the first batter of the fifth. He walked the next two, eventually leading to the two runs he allowed in five innings. The Cubs’ starters — quick hooks and all — have a collective 1.99 ERA through six playoff games. But with three more runs in three innings, the bullpen has a 7.08 ERA — costing the Cubs two of their three losses in the playoffs so far. “It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” said Rizzo, whose lineup was limited to a Willson Contreras single followed by Albert Almora Jr.’s line drive homer off Kershaw in the fourth. With little sign of life in the Cubs’ bats for much of the first-round series against the Nationals — and Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, et al — and the Dodgers, it could be a quick exit if they don’t find the answers quickly against Rich Hill on Sunday and Yu Darvish on Tuesday. The good news for the Cubs with all that activity: Kershaw made it only through five innings. The bad news: The Dodgers bullpen was the best in the National League and looked the part Saturday with five relievers combining on a 12-up, 12-down performance. -- Chicago Sun-Times MORRISSEY: Jose Quintana stays focused despite long, scary journey By Rick Morrissey LOS ANGELES — This wasn’t the plan. Or, if the plan was to have the Cubs’ flight diverted because the wife of the next day’s starting pitcher needed medical attention, forcing the plane to sit on the tarmac for five hours in Albuquerque and the pitcher to stay with his wife in New Mexico before flying that night to Los Angeles, then it needs to go on the permanent record of whoever planned this for Jose Quintana. So, no, conditions were not optimal for the Cubs left-hander as he stepped on the rubber for the first time Saturday evening at Dodgers Stadium. Did we mention that manager Joe Maddon had called on Quintana in relief Thursday night in the Cubs’ Game 5 victory over the Nationals in their first-round series? It was only 12 pitches in the seventh inning, but still. Not optimal at all. Worry. Possible fatigue. Anything else on the guy’s plate? Well, because you’re asking, his name was misspelled on the press-box score sheet for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. For the record, it’s not “Qunitana.’’

Despite all of that, he pitched well enough Saturday night. He gave up two runs and two hits in five innings in the Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Dodgers. Although it won’t go down in franchise lore, it should be remembered for the focus Quintana was able to summon up in the face of unsettling circumstances. The Cubs had been celebrating their National League Division Series victory over the Nationals, and the early Friday morning plane ride, Maddon said, was “raucous.’’ At some point during the flight, Quintana’s wife, Michelle, had a medical emergency, which he later said was “nerves, a little panic.’’ He went with her to an Albuquerque hospital, and they flew together to Los Angeles on Friday night, arriving at 10 p.m. It was 22 hours after the Cubs had left Nationals Park. “She was having [heart palpitations],’’ he said. “She felt really bad. We tried to control the situation, but she said she felt so bad. So we stopped. She’s good now.’’ Much of what players do on a daily basis is determined by rigid routine. They’re creatures of habit, and change isn’t their friend. But when it was time to play Saturday, Quintana looked straight at the catcher’s mitt and didn’t see anything else. Locating that kind of focus isn’t easy. He was brilliant through four innings, giving up just one hit. He also got a hit, a single to right, in his first at-bat. Some good fortune went his way, too, and you could say he was due. A fly ball to the farthest part of the park by Chris Taylor in the fourth was hauled in at the wall by Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. Trouble arrived in the fifth when Quintana walked consecutive batters. With a crowd of 54,289 roaring, Yasiel Puig ripped an RBI double to left center. Charlie Culberson followed with a sacrifice fly to left that brought in a run, tying the game 2-2. And Quintana was done for the night. He said he wasn’t tired. Maddon said he was. Only one vote counted. “I thought he had [had] it,’’ Maddon said. “Emotionally, he was pretty well drained at that point. The couple walks were indicators of that.’’ Weariness was a distinct possibility for all involved. The team finally landed at noon Los Angeles time Friday, after leaving Nationals Park at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time. “Nobody complained,’’ Maddon said. “It was an empathic moment. Everybody understood what’s going on. As a human being, you’re concerned for other human beings. “So I thought our guys were wonderful the way we handled the entire situation. . . . Q got his rest. We contacted him [Saturday]. He felt good about pitching. “It was a human moment. We’re playing a game. When you’re dealing with human beings, human beings — people — take priority, I think. So I was really pleased with the way our group handled the situation.’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Game 1 that there was “gamesmanship going on,’’ referring to the Cubs’ decision to wait until Saturday to name Quintana their starter. But Maddon said he wanted to hear from Quintana first that day before he made it official. In Game 3 of the NLDS, Quintana gave up only two hits and no earned runs in 5 ‰ innings, striking out seven. That start was his postseason debut, and any questions about his readiness for a bigger stage seemed to be answered. It would have been nice to see him pitch longer. He was more than game Saturday, pitching in a pressure-filled situation and somehow doing it with single-mindedness. Not easy at all. “I can’t imagine how that went for him,’’ left fielder Kyle Schwarber said. “I’m glad everyone’s OK there. For him to come out and do what he did there, it was pretty big.’’

-- Chicago Sun-Times With a few more playoff ‘nuts,’ is Arrieta the next free agent Lester? By Gordon Wittenmyer LOS ANGELES — When Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta hits the free-agent market in the next few weeks, agent Scott Boras figures to have the top available postseason starter to offer to the highest bidder. ‘‘He’s a squirrel that’s got a lot of nuts in his tree,’’ Boras said of Arrieta, whose next start in what likely will be his last postseason with the Cubs will come in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. But might Boras be bringing the next Jon Lester to market for a young, talented team that expects to turn the corner on its rebuild? A player who brings credibility and promise to a team that needs the buy-in from young, developing players to take the next step? And what might that be worth? Lester got six years and $155 million from the Cubs, who have been repaid for their investment with three consecutive appearances in the NLCS. ‘‘I think it’s the reality of the willingness of the player to take his time to communicate with players,’’ Boras said, comparing Arrieta’s value to what Lester did for the Cubs. ‘‘If you talk to [Kyle] Hendricks and you go talk to the younger pitchers that are there, is Jake available to them? Is he there? Is he that guy in addition to his performance? Guys can perform like No. 1s, but the leadership dynamic is different. ‘‘I think it’s rather obvious that Jake has a big-game cool about him. It’s something that players want to learn about and know about. He proved it in the [2016] World Series. He also has a logic about him. When Jake gets hit and he has a rough outing, he always has that same cool to come back and focus on the positives rather than what occurred. He has resiliency.’’ It’s hard to imagine the Cubs having close to the success they have had the last three seasons without Arrieta — or Lester, for that matter. And as Arrieta raised his profile — and price tag — beyond the range the Cubs likely will be willing to pay, his influence likely will continue to be felt through Hendricks, Mike Montgomery and other young pitchers. Never mind what he might mean for those at his next stop, just think Lester. Boras certainly has. ‘‘Jon Lester is a big-game winner,’’ Boras said. ‘‘He came to the Cubs as a big-game winner. He’s a great postseason pitcher. He has that résumé.’’ Rondon in, Wilson out The Cubs considered adding an extra pitcher to their NLCS roster, manager Joe Maddon said, but they eventually decided to make only one change. They removed left-handed reliever Justin Wilson and added right-handed reliever Hector Rondon. With Dodgers lefty-hitting shortstop Corey Seager out for the series because of a bad back, the Cubs saw less need for the extra lefty in the pen. Plus, Rondon provides insurance early in the series for closer Wade Davis. Rondon entered Game 1 in the sixth inning and immediately served up a tiebreaking home run to Chris Taylor that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. NLCS rotation

The Cubs firmed up their NLCS rotation plans with no surprises. Lester will pitch Sunday in Game 2, Hendricks on Tuesday in Game 3 and Arrieta on Wednesday in Game 4. -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs’ push gets 2016 World Series ring removed from auction site By Chris De Luca With some firm prodding from the Cubs, that 2016 World Series ring has been removed from Leland’s Auction’s site. The Cubs were unhappy the ring — which Leland’s said belonged to an unidentified scout — had been put up for sale earlier this month. Though the opening bid was a clever $1,908, it had recently reached $65,000 with 13 days left in the auction before it disappeared on Saturday. Bidding was scheduled to close Oct. 27. Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the team worked with Leland’s and verified it was a genuine ring given to a scout. “We appreciate Leland’s respected our rights per the contract signed by the associate [scout] and removed the item from the auction,” Green said via text Saturday night. “This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed,” the listing stated Saturday evening. The ring was not sold. When the rings were distributed in April, appraisers estimated they could fetch anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000 on the open market. But when the Cubs handed out those fancy rings in April, they issued a memo to recipients — non players — insisting the Cubs reserve the right to buy the overwhelming majority of the rings back for $1, according to a memo obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘We are currently investigating how this ring landed on an auction site for sale,’’ Green said earlier this month. ‘‘This is not an authorized sale, so we’re putting the market on notice to proceed with caution. ‘‘Caveat emptor — let the buyer beware — for any interested buyers, as this ring may be counterfeit.’’ The site said the ring “includes original Jostens presentational box with light display & etched glass top stating ‘CHICAGO CUBS 2016 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS.’ Scout’s name has been kept hidden to honor their anonymity.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Game 2 starter Jon Lester dead-set on giving Cubs whatever they need By Steve Greenberg LOS ANGELES — If anything, Jon Lester was underworked when then-Red Sox manager Terry Francona decided to give him the ball for Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. Lester was all of 23 years old, without a postseason start to his name or an appearance of any sort in 11 days. Yet, with his team leading three games to none over the Rockies, Francona went with his young lefty rather than put Game 1 starter Josh Beckett — the “best pitcher on the planet,” Lester recalled Saturday — back out there on short rest. “Hey, kid, don’t screw it up,” Beckett told him. “Don’t screw up our bullpen too much.”

So Lester did just about the only thing he could think to do under the circumstances: not screw it up. Instead, he three-hit the Rockies in 5‰ scoreless innings to pick up a title-clinching victory. A decade later, Lester is pretty dead-set on what he wants to give the Cubs as they defend their World Series title: whatever they need. After the team lost 5-2 to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, what they need is for the leader of their staff to deliver a series-tying “W.” “He’s our ace, man. He’s our guy,” Kyle Hendricks said. “I have the utmost confidence I could ever have in someone.” Jose Quintana, who started Game 1 and didn’t factor in the decision, took it a step further: “How confident in [Lester]? More than 100 percent. We expect to tie the series tomorrow.” Lester will start only four days after he went 55 pitches in relief in the divisional round against the Nationals. “I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I mean, it’s kind of just work in between [starts] — just got to do it in the game as opposed to on the side. So I don’t think it’s a problem. This time of year, you have to adjust and figure it out.” That’s the position all the Cubs’ starters either find themselves in already or likely will soon enough. Routines? How boring. Quintana started Saturday less than 48 hours after appearing in relief in Game 5 against the Nats. Jake Arrieta will oppose Alex Wood in Game 4 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field, bumped back a spot in the rotation behind Hendricks. Only Hendricks, who’ll start Game 3 opposite Yu Darvish on five days of rest, is operating according to the norm thus far.“This time of the year,” manager Joe Maddon said, “these kind of battle-tested guys under these circumstances, they look for these moments. So I have all the faith in the world. And you have to trust your guys.” There’s no one Maddon trusts like he does Lester, who’ll be going for his 10th postseason victory. That would tie him with the Astros’ Justin Verlander — who beat the Yankees on Saturday — for the most playoff wins among active pitchers. “Jonny said he feels great,” Maddon said, “so Jonny’s pitching.” Going for L.A. will be fellow lefty Rich Hill, a former Cubs draft pick who pitched for them from 2005 to ’08. Hill, a 12-game winner each of the last two seasons, shut out the Cubs for six innings in the Dodgers’ Game 3 victory in last year’s NLCS. “Any time you get the opportunity to play and compete against the best, that’s something that everybody who’s a competitor wants to do,” Hill said. “You want to challenge yourself against the best, and they’re the defending champions — and that’s the club that we wanted to play and the team that we want to beat to get to the next step, which is the World Series.” Somebody’s going to have to drag Lester — in his ninth postseason — off the mound before he’s going to let that happen. “You don’t really worry about how tired you are,” he said. “You just try to play baseball.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Quintana wife’s health issue diverted Cubs plane to New Mexico By Daryl Van Schouwen

LOS ANGELES — The Cubs flight from Washington to Los Angeles was diverted to Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday morning because Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana’s wife, Michel, was experiencing a health issue. Quintana was named as the Cubs’ starter Saturday morning, hours before the Cubs were scheduled to play the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS. Quintana’s wife’s condition was a factor in the Cubs delaying the announcement to name Quintana, who stayed with his wife for a while Friday in New Mexico, according to USA Today. “It was nothing major,’’ Quintana’s agent, Melvin Roman, told USA Today. “She’s OK. It was just an irregular heartbeat. She is fine.’’ The Cubs did not acknowledge a heart issue was the cause — they said the issue was a panic attack. In any event, “Quintana had to go through some stuff but insisted that he felt great and he’s ready to roll,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Saturday. The plane was delayed more than five hours, in part because a new flight crew was needed before the team could proceed to Los Angeles. “Everybody’s well right now,” Maddon said. “The right things were done. The players handled it great. The doctor handled it great. Everybody did the right thing.” Maddon said the decision process about whether to start Quintana or John Lackey was “more about how [Quintana] felt.” “Like, `How do you feel?’ Yes, his arm and ‘how do you feel.’ He felt fine. So we went with it. “We have John Lackey in the wings also if necessary. So we’ve got plan B involved also.” Jon Lester will start Game 2 on Sunday. -- Chicago Sun-Times Culberson softens blow, but Dodgers hurting without Corey Seager By Daryl Van Schouwen LOS ANGELES — Of all the players the Dodgers could least afford to lose, Corey Seager is up there with third baseman Justin Turner and first baseman Cody Bellinger. He might be at the top of the list. Of all the players expected to figure prominently in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Charlie Culberson would have been at the bottom of that list. He didn’t expect to be on the roster for the NLCS, but there he was, right behind Yasiel Puig in the lineup, manning shortstop and playing a starring role Saturday in the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory. Culberson’s performance helped, at least for a day, to lift a dark cloud over Dodgerland that settled in when Seager was left off the NLCS roster with a lower-back sprain suffered making a normal slide during Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Diamondbacks. An unexpected, terrible break for the Dodgers. Seemingly quite the fortunate break for the Cubs. “Seager’s really good,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before the game. “They’re going to definitely miss him, no question.’’ For how long was the question of the day and will be for the week. Seager received an epidural injection and hasn’t been able to do much of anything physically baseball-wise. “Yeah, this sucks, to be honest,’’ he said.

Enter Culberson, who spent most of the season at Class AAA and made one start at shortstop for the Dodgers during the season. He followed the electrifying Puig’s RBI double by battling out of an 0-2 count and lifting a low pitch from Jose Quintana for a game-tying sacrifice fly in the Dodgers’ two-run fifth. And in the seventh, after Puig’s homer made it 4-2, Culberson doubled to left to set the stage for a Maddon blowup. “Yeah, we trust Charlie,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a part of what we’re doing right now, and he’s a heck of a player.’’ Culberson scored the Dodgers’ fifth run without touching home plate, sprinting from second base on Turner’s single to left and getting called out on a strong throw by Kyle Schwarber and good tag by catcher Willson Contreras. After a challenge and review, Culberson was called safe because Contreras’ foot had crossed the baseline, not allowing a lane to the plate for the runner. Maddon ran out to plate umpire Lance Barksdale, pointing to four umps and getting ejected. Culberson celebrated in the dugout. “Corey Seager is a big part of this organization,’’ Culberson said. “Everybody knows it; I know it, too. I’m going to go out and prepare like I’m playing a regular baseball game. Take a deep breath and have some fun.’’ A left-handed .295/.375/.479 hitter with 22 home runs and 77 RBI, Seager watched all the action from the bench, where he usually watches the Dodgers lose — they were 11-16 when he did not start, 93-42 when he did. His loss is akin to the Cubs losing Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo, Cubs Game 2 starter Jon Lester said. Seager is not going to Chicago with the Dodgers for Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) and said he’s hoping to return for the World Series. If Seager makes quick progress, and the Dodgers put another player on the disabled list during the NLCS, he could be activated, but the player they put on the DL would not be eligible for the World Series. If Seager tries playing during the NLCS and has to be replaced on the roster because of an injury, he would be ineligible for the World Series. “I think next week is going to be kind of a big week to see if I can get back into baseball activities,’’ he said. “But right now, I’m really not sure.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs make one roster change, name Quintana to start NLCS opener By Daryl Van Schouwen LOS ANGELES — Left-hander Jose Quintana will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series today against the Dodgers, the Cubs announced about nine hours before the first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Cubs manager Joe Maddon had been undecided on Friday, although Quintana seemed the likely choice over veteran right-hander John Lackey, who did not pitch in the NLDS against the Nationals. Quintana threw 12 pitches in a rare relief appearance of two-thirds of an inning in the Cubs’ 9-8 victory Thursday, which threw off the starter’s normal routine but only to a small degree. The Cubs made one roster change, putting right-hander Hector Rondon on the roster and taking lefty Justin Wilson off. The biggest roster news belonged to the Dodgers, who will not have All-Star shortstop Corey Seager for the series. Seager has been nursing a sore back, but was not expected to miss the series. Charlie Culberson is on the roster instead.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Seager wasn’t a sure thing to start Saturday. Seager did not work out with teammates for the second consecutive day Friday at Dodger Stadium. Seager batted .295 with 22 home runs and 77 RBI during the regular season “It’s just a little muscular thing,” Roberts said Friday, adding the injury occurred during Game 3 of the NLDS Monday in Phoenix. In the first playoff appearance of his career, Quintana pitched 5 2/3 innings in a Game 2 matchup with Max Scherzer, allowing an unearned run because of Kyle Schwarber’s dropped fly ball in left field that prevented him from logging six scoreless innings. The Cubs acquired Quintana during the All-Star break for four prospects, including prized outfielder Eloy Jimenez. Clayton Kershaw will start for the Dodgers, who lost to the Cubs in the 2016 NLCS. Gametime is 7 p.m. Chicago time (TBS). -- Daily Herald 3 questions for Chicago Cubs before tonight's NLCS Game 2 By Bruce Miles LOS ANGELES -- The Chicago Cubs find themselves down 1-0 in the National League championship series after falling 5-2 Saturday night to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here are three questions heading into Sunday night's Game 2. 1. What is the biggest concern for the Cubs? Without a doubt, it's the bullpen. Hector Rondon, just activated for the NLCS, gave up a homer, as did Mike Montgomery. Jon Lester starts for the Cubs in Game 2. He worked in relief in the NLDS, and if he can't go deep, a beat-up and beleaguered Cubs bullpen could be in trouble. 2. Will Albert Almora Jr. get another start? It's highly likely, with the Dodgers throwing former Cubs lefty Rich Hill. Almora, a right-handed batter, homered in Game 1 against Dodgers ace lefty Clayton Kershaw. He also is the Cubs' best option in the big center field at Dodger Stadium. "Albert hits lefties," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "He really does a nice job of that. He's been swinging the bat really well. Bully for him." 3. Did Maddon really invoke the Cook County soda pop tax? Yes, he did. In fact, he had to explain it to the Los Angeles and national media after he compared the repealed pop tax to the catcher-collision rule. "The soda tax, where are the Chicagoans here?" he asked in his postgame news conference. "Suddenly we're taxing soda back there. My point is all rules that are created, or laws, aren't necessarily good ones. That's my point." -- Daily Herald Chicago Cubs lose Game 1 of NLCS to Dodgers 5-2 By Bruce Miles

LOS ANGELES -- We can rule out fatigue as the cause of the Chicago Cubs' demise in Game 1 of the National League championship series. Instead, we round up the usual suspects: bases on balls and home runs given up by relief pitchers at bad times. The end result was a 5-2 victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers before 54,289 fans at Dodger Stadium. The Cubs came into this game physically and emotionally drained after needing more than 4½ hours to beat the Washington Nationals in Game 5 of the division series Thursday. They then traveled across the country, only to be diverted in Albuquerque for several hours because of an illness suffered by the wife of Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana, the starter in Game 1. Quintana was OK over 5 innings, but he did give up 2 costly walks in the Dodgers' 2-run fifth. Reliever Hector Rondon allowed a leadoff homer to Chris Taylor in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie, and Mike Montgomery did the same with Yasiel Puig in the Dodgers' 2-run seventh. Things got interesting in the seventh, when the Dodgers scored twice. Manager Joe Maddon got himself ejected over a rule he detests: the catcher collision rule at home plate. Maddon went so far as to invoke the Cook County soda pop tax, and catcher Willson Contreras had another idea. "I think we just need to go to Walmart and get some toys and let them play out there," Contreras said. Here's what happened. After Puig's leadoff homer, Charlie Culberson doubled and stayed at second on a bunt out by pitcher Brandon Morrow and an infield single by Chris Taylor. John Lackey came in to pitch, and he gave up a single to Justin Turner. Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber came up firing and appeared to get Culberson at home. The Dodgers challenged, and Culberson was called safe because it was ruled Contreras had the plate blocked before he had the ball. The Cubs contended Contreras had to reach for the ball, and that took him into the baseline. Never mind. Maddon needs no excuse to rail on what he thinks is a bad rule. He was tossed from the game but managed to give each umpire a piece of his mind. "I saw a great baseball play," he said. "I saw Schwarber come in on a grounded ball, use his feet perfectly, make a low, great throw to the plate that could have been cut off. The ball was kind of taking Willson towards the line, towards foul territory. He catches the ball, and his technique was absolutely 100 percent correct. "I could not disagree more with the interpretation of that. I will defend the umpires. The umpires did everything according to what they've been told, but I, from Day One, have totally disagreed with the content of that rule. I think it's wrong. "That was a beautifully done major-league play all the way around. That gets interpreted kind of like tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago, for me." The Cubs' offense was not overwhelmed by Dodgers starting pitcher and ace Clayton Kershaw. He lasted 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. Albert Almora Jr. opened the scoring with a 2-run homer in the fourth. Maddon also put left-handed hitting Schwarber into the lineup. A part-time catcher, Schwarber had a hard time understanding what happened at the plate.

"It stinks," he said. "I still think the rule's pretty vague. I know you have to give (the runner) the lane. What it looked like at first is Willson did kind of give him the lane, and when the ball was coming in, he stepped into the lane. That's pretty much how we're taught as catchers when we're getting brought up." -- Daily Herald Lester, Hill will square off in Game 2 of NLCS By Scot Gregor Rich Hill didn't like the final outcome of last year's National League championship series. Looking for their first trip to the World Series since 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs 4-2. As for Hill's only start against the Cubs in the 2016 NLCS, there was a lot for the veteran left-hander to like. "It was a great game," Hill told reporters Saturday. "Obviously, it was here in L.A., and I think it put us up 2 games to 1 against the Cubs. Other than that, I think it's a similar situation to where we were last year. "Last year we wanted to beat the best, and we thought the Cubs were the best. Unfortunately, we didn't get through that round. "But what we gained in experience was huge to get to this point. A lot of guys that were on that roster last year with the Dodgers are back again this year, and we're able to feed off those experiences from last year and understand that where we got to, it wasn't such a failure. It was more of a learning point in moving forward." In Game 3 of last year's NLCS against the Cubs, the 37-year-old Hill took the mound for Los Angeles at Dodgers Stadium and pitched 6 scoreless innings in a 6-0 win. L.A. is back in the playoffs this year, but Hill struggled in his start against Arizona in Game 3 of the NLDS. The Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 8-5, but Hill allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in just 4 innings. While Hill figures to benefit from plenty of rest -- he last pitched on Oct. 7 -- Jon Lester's stamina figures to be tested. The Cubs' starter in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals on Oct. 7, Lester threw 86 pitches over 6 innings and allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Lester came back out of the bullpen in Game 4 and allowed 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk in 3⅔ innings while throwing 55 pitches. "I'm not worried about it," Lester said of the relief appearance. "I mean, it's kind of just work in between. Just got to do it in the game as opposed to on the side. "I don't think it's a problem. This time of year, you have to adjust and figure it out. We'll do that tomorrow." Lester started against the Dodgers twice during the regular season. On April 4, he allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 6 innings at Wrigley Field and got a no decision. On May 28, he allowed 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 3⅓ innings and took the loss at Dodger Stadium. Hill did not face the Cubs during the regular season. The Cubs, meanwhile will go with Kyle Hendricks in Game 3 of this series and Jake Arrieta in Game 4. --

Daily Herald Rozner: Chicago Cubs' bullpen implodes again in Game 1 defeat By Barry Rozner If you're going to win even one World Series, let alone two in a row, you need a bit of good fortune along the way. Through three very difficult series, the Chicago Cubs got their share of breaks last fall, and they definitely got some in a brutal series with Washington. But after a grueling travel day Friday to the West Coast, it sure didn't feel like the Cubs had the upper hand in any way heading into their third consecutive NLCS. Everything was against them, including starter Jose Quintana forced to stay behind in Albuquerque on Friday when the charter was diverted to New Mexico because of his wife's irregular heartbeat, but Michelle is fine and they joined the Cubs in Southern California on Friday night. Everything was against the Cubs … until the home team arrived Saturday at Dodger Stadium to the news that their best player, shortstop Corey Seager, would not even be on the roster for this series -- at least for the first few games. Imagine finding out at the ballpark that Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant would be unavailable. That's how it had to feel for the Dodgers, who were under extraordinary pressure to get the jump on the Cubs in Game 1 of the NLCS with Clayton Kershaw on the mound and the Cubs' bullpen in tatters. They failed to move on Quintana early, but once they got to him for a pair of runs, Cubs manager Joe Maddon unwisely yanked his starter in a 2-2 game at 89 pitches after 5 innings. And that was all she wrote. The Cubs' bullpen set fire to the rest of the contest, and Los Angeles sailed home with a 5-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. Chris Taylor greeted the newly rostered Hector Rondon with a home run in the bottom of the sixth and the Dodgers had the lead for keeps, as the Los Angeles bullpen -- rested and effective -- pitched 4 perfect innings. It was the expected outcome given the Cubs' past few days and the state of their bullpen, but oddly the Cubs were in the Dodgers' heads before Game 1 even began. Manager Dave Roberts claimed "gamesmanship" regarding the Cubs' delayed announcement of a starter for Saturday and posting a lineup for the first game. This was news to Maddon, who couldn't name a starter until he spoke to Quintana and made certain that, among other minor concerns, the pitcher was actually in town for the game. Seems rather reasonable. As for the lineup, the Cubs passed it along within minutes of the team bus arriving at Dodger Stadium. So what was the big problem? "I have no concerns about sending lineups over early," Maddon said with a smirk. "Once the game begins, if your players play better than their players, your team wins."

Still, Maddon appeared to enjoy the fact that Dodgers were irritated, adding sarcastically, "I apologize for being so late with the lineup today." It was a good moment for Maddon, who had a rough one when he was thrown out in the seventh for arguing an absurd home-plate rule that was judged correctly and handed the Dodgers a big insurance run. But the Cubs only needed 1 victory in Los Angeles to return to Chicago feeling good, and in Game 2 they have Jon Lester, who was brilliant against the Dodgers in a pair of NLCS starts a year ago. The Cubs desperately need him to go deep and do it again. -- Daily Herald Back injury sidelines Dodgers' Seager vs. Chicago Cubs By Bruce Miles LOS ANGELES -- Although it's early in the National League championship series, one game-changer in the Chicago Cubs' favor could be the absence of Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager. The Dodgers did not place Seager on the NLCS roster because of a back injury. During the season, Seager had a line of .295/.375/.479 with 22 home runs and 77 RBI. A left-handed batter, he hit .325 vs. left-handed pitchers compared with 281 against righties. The Cubs started left-hander Jose Quintana in Saturday's Game 1. In Game 2 Sunday, they'll go with lefty Jon Lester. "Obviously, he hits both righties and lefties, but he is left-handed," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "That little sandwich with him and (Cody) Bellinger and (Justin) Turner in the middle is kind of a difficult slot. But Seager's really good. They're definitely going to miss him." Seager will stay in L.A. to take treatment when the series shifts to Wrigley Field this coming week. "It had been gradually getting better every day, and we were optimistic all the way up until (Friday), and basically that's kind of when we decided," Seager said. "Yeah, this (stinks), to be honest. Obviously, you try to be the best team that you can right now, try not to be a distraction." Take all the time you need: Joe Maddon said he was unaware the Game 5 victory at Washington took 4 hours, 37 minutes to play. With all the talk about pace of play and time of games, Maddon was asked how fans should have reacted to that game. "Glued," he said. "I don't think the pace of the game was impacted at all. I thought the pace of the game was extremely interesting. "So if you want to argue against pace of the game, that game could not have been more quickly paced than any game you've possibly ever seen. You can either talk about pace of the game or time of the game. I think there's two different issues completely. "So the time of the game is not amenable to some people. Pace of the game, if you're a baseball fan, you could not have asked for a better pace, outside of fastpitch softball.

"That was not boring. For me, pace and intrigue are probably synonymous words, and I think there was pace and intrigue involved in that game. That was outstanding. It's good for baseball. That game had to be good for baseball." The human element: The Cubs' team plane was diverted and delayed five hours in Albuquerque on the way from Washington to Los Angeles after Thursday night's victory. It turns out the wife of Saturday's starting pitcher Jose Quintana became ill on the plane. Joe Maddon says she is fine now. "We did the right thing," Maddon said. "Everybody's well right now. The players handled it great. The doctor handled it great. Everybody did the right thing. "It was a human moment. We're playing a game. When you're dealing with human beings, people, take priority, I think. So I was really pleased with the way our group handled the situation, and I really respect Q's word. He said he's ready to rock 'n' roll, so we believe him." What are you, nuts? Super agent Scott Boras was on hand at Dodger Stadium, as he usually is. Boras also allows reporters to find him. Among his clients are Cubs Jake Arrieta, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant. Arrieta is a free agent this off-season, and Boras talked up Arrieta's overall resume. "He's a squirrel with a lot of nuts in his tree," Boras said. -- Cubs.com Lead slips away from Cubs in NLCS Game 1 By Ken Gurnick and Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Dealt a pregame blow when injured shortstop Corey Seager was left off the roster and an in-game setback when Albert Almora Jr. took Clayton Kershaw deep, the Dodgers rallied to beat the Cubs, 5-2, behind home runs from Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig in Game 1 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series presented by Camping World on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. Since the LCS expanded to the best-of-seven format 31 years ago, the team that won Game 1 of the NLCS has a 22-9 record. The Dodgers are 3-1 in the NLCS when they win the opener, and the Cubs are 0-3 when they lose the opener. "[The Dodgers] won 100-plus games for a reason," the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo said. "They have a really good bullpen. It's just about bringing those guys into the strike zone. They don't really have guys who give in." Kershaw retired the last six batters he faced before leaving for a pinch-hitter, then the Dodgers paraded their bullpen arsenal flawlessly to the finish. Tony Cingrani got one out, Kenta Maeda got three outs and his second postseason victory in relief, Brandon Morrow got two outs, Tony Watson retired his two batters and Kenley Jansen fanned the final four for the save. The last 18 Cubs were retired in order. "This is the way we played this whole year. ... Guys went down, and everyone stepped up and tried to do the job to help us win," said Jansen. "We understand that this series, we're going to pick up Corey. Put him on our back and carry him."

Kershaw and Cubs starter Jose Quintana left after five innings with the Dodgers and Cubs deadlocked at 2. Taylor greeted reliever Hector Rondon (added to the roster on Saturday) by blasting a 97-mph fastball over the fence in right-center leading off the sixth inning, and Puig just cleared the left-center fence off lefty Mike Montgomery in the seventh. "I just missed the location, and the ball ran a little bit to the center," Rondon said of the pitch to Taylor. "With those things, if you miss, you pay." The Dodgers had countered Almora's two-run shot in the fourth inning with a pair of runs in the fifth, with Puig's RBI double followed by a sacrifice fly from Charlie Culberson, Seager's roster replacement. Culberson also doubled in the seventh. "That sac fly he got there to score the second run was huge," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Culberson. "He got behind, 0-2, and dug a breaking ball out and lifted it to left field." Kershaw -- charged with two runs on four hits in five innings with four strikeouts -- regretted the 3-1 single by Willson Contreras more than the Almora home run. "Like I've always said, solo home runs you can take, but the ones with guys on base are tough," Kershaw said. "Other than that, it was OK. They battled me well, like I thought they would, got my pitch count up." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED The swing works: Taylor, who began the season in the Minor Leagues, reworked his swing last winter to be able to handle today's high-velocity fastballs. The result was 21 home runs in the regular season, including three grand slams. But none mattered as much as the solo shot he hit off Rondon's 97.3-mph heater to break the 2-2 tie, estimated by Statcast™ at 401 feet. "I felt it was just something I had to do, had to make that adjustment to take it to the next level," Taylor said of his mechanical changes. Bat-flip double: That could only be Puig, who split the gap with his RBI double, which cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth and moved Austin Barnes to third. Barnes scored the tying run on Culberson's sacrifice fly. Puig stood at home plate watching with his arms raised, then took off for his double. "It's impacting everyone," Roberts said of Puig's emotional play. "And I think that it's great when he can play with such emotion and focus as well. He loves the big stage. Not only the fans, but his teammates are feeding off it." QUOTABLE "Everybody's going to have to step up, and you saw that with Culby tonight. He's had big moments for us in the past. Seems to come up clutch for us. Great guy to plug in there." -- Kershaw, on Culberson "It's a series, so we just have to come at it the same way and just not panic, really. Just go in with the same mindset and just be ready [on Sunday]. I think we're going to come in here with clear minds and an upbeat attitude and ready to get after it." -- Chicago's Addison Russell UPON FURTHER REVIEW Cody Bellinger singled with one out in the Dodgers' sixth and stole second, but the Cubs challenged the ruling, saying Javier Baez made the tag in time. After a review, the call was confirmed. In the bottom of the seventh, Justin Turner singled to left and Culberson was called out at the plate on a throw by left fielder Kyle Schwarber and tag by catcher Contreras. After the Dodgers challenged on the Home Plate Collision Rule, the call was overturned, the run scored and Cubs manager Joe Maddon was ejected by crew chief Mike

Winters for arguing. The ruling determined that the catcher was not in possession of the ball and was not reacting to the trajectory of the throw while blocking the pathway of the runner to the plate. "I could not disagree more with that," Maddon said of the call, absolving the umpires but criticizing the rule. "I think it's wrong. That was a beautifully done Major League play all the way around. [The way] that gets interpreted is kind of, like, tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago, for me." Said Contreras: "It was a basic play. The ball took me to that position. I cannot do anything. I cannot do more. I did what I needed to do." WHAT'S NEXT Cubs: Jon Lester will make his second postseason start and third appearance of 2017 on Sunday. The lefty started Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Nationals and gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He also pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief in Game 4. This will be his 21st career postseason start. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT from Dodger Stadium. Dodgers: Rich Hill, who allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in beating the Cubs in Game 3 of last year's NLCS at Wrigley Field, starts this year's Game 2 at home at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday. Hill, a former Cub, allowed two runs on a Paul Goldschmidt homer in four innings of the Dodgers' Game 2 comeback win in the NLDS eight days ago. -- Cubs.com Cubs' bullpen struggles carry over to NLCS By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- The Cubs added a fresh reliever for the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World in Hector Rondon, and the Dodgers' Chris Taylor hit the right-hander's second pitch of the postseason for a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium. It's been that kind of postseason for the Cubs' bullpen. After Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS, Cubs relievers now have a 7.08 ERA in six postseason games, giving up 16 earned runs over 20 1/3 innings. Only twice has the Cubs' bullpen turned in higher postseason ERAs (12.79 in three games in 1998 and 9.00 in three games in 1932). The Cubs beat the Dodgers in the NLCS in six games last year, but this year is different. "Right now, I think the biggest difference is we have to get our bullpen in order," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "That's probably the biggest difference between both seasons -- that we have to be able to hold small deficits or small leads in the middle and then hopefully get to [Wade Davis] in a positive situation. "I think standing out right now, their bullpen is pretty firm, and we have to really get our feet back on the ground." Cubs starter Jose Quintana faced the minimum in his first four innings but walked two with one out in the fifth, and both of those runs scored. That was his last inning, with Rondon taking over in the sixth. What happened against Taylor? "I just missed the location, and the ball ran a little bit to the center," said Rondon, who was added to the Cubs' NLCS roster after being left off the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile roster. "With those things, if you miss, you pay. "When you miss a pitch, they make you pay, especially in the playoffs. They were ready for the mistake, and I threw it a little bit in the center and he got me."

Mike Montgomery replaced Rondon and served up a solo homer to Yasiel Puig before John Lackey allowed an RBI single to Justin Turner, although that involved a replay review of the play at the plate and resulted in Maddon's ejection after an overturned call. That's another story. It seemed as if the Dodgers' bullpen was better than the club's ace, Clayton Kershaw. "That's how this game is turning anyways -- all power arms," Kyle Schwarber said. "All these guys come out throwing 95 [mph] plus with some plus curveballs and stuff like that. You've got to really lock in during that at-bat." Montgomery didn't blame jet lag from the Cubs' long flight from Washington to Los Angeles. "It's just a matter of when you're facing good hitters, you have to execute," Montgomery said. "I have to do a better job of that." "It was a lot of missed locations, a lot of walks, and that's one thing that cannot happen, it cost us some games," catcher Willson Contreras said about the Cubs' bullpen. "It's really frustrating. We came here to win the game, but they played better than us." -- Cubs.com Maddon ejected after overturned call at plate By Anthony DiComo LOS ANGELES -- Viewed frame by frame, Willson Contreras' left leg seemed almost synchronized with the baseball, kicking out toward foul ground as Kyle Schwarber's throw zipped in from left field. By the time the ball nestled into Contreras' catcher's mitt in the seventh inning Saturday night, there was little room for Charlie Culberson to slide. Culberson missed home plate completely. Umpire Lance Barksdale called him out. Then Dodgers manager Dave Roberts challenged the play, Cubs counterpart Joe Maddon was ejected and chaos descended upon National League Championship Series Game 1 presented by Camping World -- a 5-2 Cubs loss to the Dodgers. "It was just a perfect play that we got penalized on," Maddon said. The Cubs were already trailing, 4-2, when Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner singled with two men on base in the seventh. Attempting to score from second, Culberson was called out when Barksdale ruled that he did not touch home plate. Almost immediately, Dodgers players implored Roberts to challenge. Major League Baseball implemented Rule 7.13 in 2014, dictating that "unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score." The rule mandates catchers to provide some sort of sliding lane for baserunners at home plate, while giving managers the latitude to challenge such plays. Mostly, the rule is in place to protect catchers, some of whom have been against it from the beginning. Maddon, who has long questioned the rule's implementation, sprinted out of the dugout as soon as umpires overturned the call, arguing with three of them. Crew chief Mike Winters eventually ejected him. "I have to stick up for my boys," Maddon said, noting that his argument was with the rule itself -- not the umpiring crew's enforcement of it. "I've got to stick up for everybody that plays this game. I thought it was inappropriate. I don't want guys trying to hurt anybody deliberately or intentionally, either. I agree with that 100 percent. But there was no [malicious] intent with that play."

Ultimately, the play mattered little in a game that saw the Cubs cough up three runs in relief, trail from the sixth inning on and go their final 18 plate appearances without a baserunner. But it sparked renewed debate over Rule 7.13, which in this instance went in Los Angeles' favor. "Looking at the replay, it's pretty obvious he blocked the plate," Culberson said. "It's baseball, but luckily for us, the rule says you have to give us the lane, so it worked out." Added Roberts: "It was pretty clear to us." The Cubs were not so certain, with Contreras quipping the two teams may as well "go to Walmart and get some toys and play," and Maddon comparing the rule to the city of Chicago's recently abandoned soda tax. "My point is all rules that are created, or laws, aren't necessarily good ones," Maddon said. Barely 24 hours earlier, Maddon sat at the same Dodger Stadium podium in a faded jean jacket and lime-green shirt, radiating his personal brand of cool. By late Saturday, the Cubs' manager was red-faced and angry, defending a player whom he believed did his job perfectly. "I think that was the wrong call," Contreras said. "I will not change anything. If I have to do that again, I will do it again. They have to change everything. Not me." -- Cubs.com Almora stands tall on big stage with 2-run shot By Austin Laymance LOS ANGELES -- The Cubs have been thrilled with what they have seen from Albert Almora Jr. all year and into the postseason, and they believe the young outfielder has a bright future moving forward. Almora gave the Cubs an early jolt Saturday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World, launching a two-run home run off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in the fourth inning for the first runs of the series. But unfortunately for the Cubs, the fast start did not hold up in an eventual 5-2 loss. "I was just excited to put the team on the board and to start off the series like that," said Almora, a 23-year-old who made his third career postseason start. "I think that was a good way to get going." Almora turned on a 3-2 slider from Kershaw and sent it into the Dodgers bullpen in left field. His first career postseason homer was a line drive that left the bat at 106 mph, had a 21-degree launch angle and traveled a projected 412 feet, according to Statcast™. "I'm just trying to get a pitch to hit, trying to get deep into counts," Almora said. "I saw in the first at-bat they weren't really throwing me strikes and I was kind of excited. With the crowd and the situation, you want to do well. But, after that, I settled back in, and I don't usually feel pressure or anything like that, it's the same game if it's in June or October. Now, it's on national television every night." That Almora made an in-game adjustment from one at-bat to the next, on a big stage in the NLCS and against an elite pitcher such as Kershaw, is one example of why the Cubs are high on their 2012 first-round -- and sixth overall -- Draft pick. "He's slowed the game down," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Albert, moving forward, is going to be a really good everyday Major League Baseball player." Almora has also shown the ability to produce against left-handed pitching, batting .342 (38-for-111) with four home runs against lefties in the regular season. That alone was one reason Maddon felt confident starting Almora against Kershaw in Game 1.

"Albert hits lefties," Maddon said. "He really does a nice job of that. He's been swinging the bat really well. Bully for him. If you look at his numbers during the course of the season, he's pretty much been that guy. Though he's gotten better against righties recently. He's playing at a high level." First baseman Anthony Rizzo said the Cubs felt Almora's homer would be the story of the game at the time. Instead, the Dodgers responded with five runs and their bullpen proceeded to shut down the Cubs' bats. "I think we played a great game," Almora said. "Just a couple pitches went the other way. Great teams take advantage of that, and they did. We had the lead. I don't think we played a bad game at all. We were in there all the way to the end." -- Cubs.com Feeling great, Lester ready for NLCS Game 2 By Anthony DiComo LOS ANGELES -- It was late Friday when Cubs manager Joe Maddon found Jon Lester with his family at the team hotel. He asked the pertinent questions: How do you feel? Are you ready to go for National League Championship Series Game 2 presented by Camping World? Lester, who will start tonight on short rest after throwing 55 pitches in relief in National League Division Series Game 4 presented by T-Mobile against the Nationals, left no doubt about his ability to rally the Cubs back from a 1-0 series deficit. "I have all the faith in the world," Maddon said. "You have to trust your guys. You have to trust the conversation and I do. Jonny said he feels great, so Jonny's pitching. "And furthermore, this time of the year, these kind of battle-tested guys under these circumstances -- they look for these moments." Major League Baseball's active leader in postseason innings, wins and strikeouts, Lester is nothing if not battle-tested. This marks the 33-year-old's eighth postseason and sixth LCS. Tonight will mark his 25th career playoff outing and 21st start, nearly half of them coming the past three Octobers with the Cubs. Overall in the postseason, Lester is 9-7 with a 2.57 ERA in 143 1/3 innings, the seventh-highest total in MLB history. With three more, Lester will pass Whitey Ford for sixth place on that list. "You get out there in these games, and the adrenaline and excitement kind of take over," Lester said. "So you don't really worry about how tired you are. You just try to play baseball." This is hardly Lester's first October outing on short rest. Just last year, he threw six strong innings to win World Series Game 5, then returned on two days' rest to throw three more in relief in Game 7. Overall in his postseason career, Lester holds a 1.86 ERA on short rest. "I'm not worried about it," he said. "I don't think it's a problem. This time of year, you have to adjust and figure it out. We'll do that [Sunday]." The greater challenge for Lester may be attacking a Dodgers lineup that tagged him for six runs in 3 1/3 innings in their last meeting back in May. Although one of the primary troublemakers in that game, shortstop Corey Seager, is off the Dodgers' NLCS roster due to injury, Enrique Hernandez (4-for-14, two home runs), Cody Bellinger (1-for-2, one home run) and others have done damage against him in the past.

None of that figures to faze Lester, who went 13-8 with a 4.33 ERA during the regular season, starting at least 31 games for the 10th consecutive year. No active player has more postseason experience than Lester. It's hard to imagine anyone could be more prepared. "It will be a fun atmosphere here at Dodger Stadium," Lester said. "I know it will be packed, so it will be fun. I think once you get out there, you forget about everything and you just try to do your job." -- Cubs.com Quintana focused after wife's health improves By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Jose Quintana felt good Saturday night in his five innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World. The Cubs left-hander was even happier to report that his wife is feeling better. The Cubs' charter flight from Washington to Los Angeles on Thursday night was diverted to Albuquerque, N.M., because Quintana's wife, Michel, became ill. "She took a couple [medications] and she felt really bad on the plane," Quintana said Saturday after the Cubs lost, 5-2, to the Dodgers in the first game of the best-of-seven series. "When [the plane] stopped there, we tried to control the situation. She told me she felt so bad. She's good now." The Cubs were celebrating their win over the Nationals in the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile on the flight, but the mood changed when the plane had to make the emergency landing. Did the decision to start Quintana in Game 1 depend on how his wife felt? "It was more about how he felt," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Quintana, who threw 12 pitches in relief in Game 5 of the NLDS. "He said he felt fine." Quintana looked sharp as he faced the minimum over the first four innings, inducing weak contact, with the exception of a long fly ball to center by Chris Taylor leading off the fourth. He struck out Enrique Hernandez to start the fifth, but then walked two batters and Yasiel Puig smacked an RBI double. The Dodgers tied the game at 2 on Charlie Culberson's sacrifice fly. Quintana wanted to go another inning -- he had thrown 89 pitches -- but Maddon decided to go to the bullpen. "I respect his decision," Quintana said. "For me, I think it all changed after two walks. That's going to happen in games like that, especially the second [walk] when I tried to get the ground ball." Quintana started Game 3 of the NLDS, but said he wasn't fatigued at all. "My velo and speed were the same," he said. "I think the most important thing in the playoffs is that you have your mind strong and you want to go out there strong for your team." And he could do that, knowing his wife was all right. The Cubs' plane was on the tarmac in Albuquerque for five hours, although part of that delay was because they had to switch pilots. "It was an empathetic moment," Maddon said about the reaction to Michel Quintana's situation. "Everybody understood what was going on. As a human being, you're concerned for other human beings. I thought our guys were wonderful the way we handled the entire situation.

"[Quintana] got off the plane," Maddon said before Game 1. "He spent some time with our team doctor, and everything seems to be well. 'Q' got his rest. We contacted him. He felt good about pitching today." Quintana and his wife were both able to get to Los Angeles on Friday night. "When you're dealing with human beings, people take priority I think," Maddon said. "So I was really pleased with the way our group handled the situation, and I really respect Q's word." Said Quintana: "[Michel's] really good now. We don't have control when things like that happen. I waited for her to be safe." -- Cubs.com Cubs turn to Lester as they aim to even NLCS By Doug Miller Baseball in 2017 is a game of overpowering arms, extreme exit velocity, launch angles, radical infield shifts and new-age statistics, but there's still a place for a duel between two pitchers who cut their teeth and honed their craft in the old school. That place is October, and, more specifically when it comes to this year's postseason, Dodger Stadium for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World, which is set for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 CT, 4:30 PT) on TBS. The Dodgers won Game 1, 5-2, holding serve in Chavez Ravine and staying undefeated this October. Game 2 offers fans a rare throwback, with a timeless matchup of postseason-tested and ultra-competitive left-handers who don't break radar guns but still hurt hitters' hearts. Dodgers starter Rich Hill, 37, and 33-year-old Cubs southpaw Jon Lester approach their craft with precision and approach the mound with a snarl. They are both as eager as ever to take the ball and the responsibility of getting deep into the game to help their clubs' chances to get one win closer to the World Series in this NLCS rematch. "It's great," said Hill, who won his only start in last year's NLCS between these two teams, twirling a masterful six innings of shutout ball in Game 3 in Los Angeles to give his team a 2-1 lead in the series. "Any time you get the opportunity to play and compete against the best, I think it's something that everybody who is a competitor wants to do." As it turned out, Hill's gem came in the last game the Dodgers would win in that series; they then had to sit at home and watch the Cubs win the World Series. Now Hill can give his team a 2-0 lead heading into Chicago. "You want to challenge yourself against the best, and they're the defending champions, and that's the club that we wanted to play and the team that we want to beat to get to the next step, which is the World Series," Hill said. As for Lester, these October outings seem to be a yearly exercise. This will be his 22nd career postseason start, and he'll be looking to even up the series while improving on his career playoff record of 9-7 and 2.57 ERA. He was the Cubs' best starter in the 2016 NLCS and the series MVP after going 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 13 crucial innings over two games. This time around he's coming off a much-needed relief appearance on Thursday in Game 4 of the all-hands-on-deck NL Division Series win over the Nationals. He threw 55 pitches in that effort, pressed into service when starter Jake Arrieta was pulled after four innings. Lester gave up one run on one hit in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three.

On Saturday, Lester was asked if the short rest, the tough series against Washington, the lengthy relief stint, the Cubs' arduous flight to Los Angeles -- which was delayed in Albuquerque for several hours when pitcher Jose Quintana's wife fell ill -- if any of it might concern him heading into his big outing. He didn't hesitate to answer. "I'm not worried about it," Lester said. "I don't think it's a problem. This time of year, you have to adjust and figure it out. We'll do that [on Sunday]." The Dodgers, meanwhile, have other things to figure out. They are playing without star shortstop Corey Seager, who was left off the NLCS roster because of a back injury. Charlie Culberson filled in for him in Game 1 and performed admirably, doubling and driving in a run on a sacrifice fly in a solid team victory buoyed by Clayton Kershaw's gritty five innings, Yasiel Puig's big home run and typically stellar bullpen work. But Hill knows that success on the road to the World Series means absorbing bad breaks and persevering with the 25 guys who are on the roster. "I think it's going to be one of those things where we don't know where the next guy's going to come from that's going to be the hero of a game or however you want to put it," Hill said. "But you can definitely kind of see that story line building." The Cubs wouldn't mind tearing down that story line, and they'd like it to start in Game 2. It all starts with Lester, who is the active leader in postseason innings pitched (143 1/3) and has been in fine form of late, recording a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings in the NLDS, including his one start. "He says he feels great," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Lester. "And furthermore, this time of the year, these kind of battle-tested guys, under these circumstances, they look for these moments. "So I have all the faith in the world, again, and you have to trust your guys. You have to trust the conversation, and I do. Jonny said he feels great, so Jonny's pitching." And the Dodgers will be swinging. After all, they're the ones who finished the regular season with the most wins (104) in the Major Leagues. They might have been knocked out by the Cubs at this stage last year, but they're home, they're up 1-0 and they still haven't lost a game in October. In other words, they're ready to go. With or without Seager. "It doesn't affect the clubhouse," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the injury. "We have a lot of good players. That's not going to sway our confidence. We still have to go out there and play well." -- Cubs.com Cubs to start Hendricks in G3; Arrieta in G4 By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- The Cubs announced Kyle Hendricks will start Game 3 and Jake Arrieta will go in Game 4 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. Both of those games will be played at Wrigley Field. Jose Quintana opened the NLCS presented by Camping World for the Cubs on Saturday night, and Jon Lester was scheduled to start Game 2 tonight.

Hendricks started Games 1 and 5 of the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile against the Nationals, and finished with 13 strikeouts over 11 innings, getting the win in the series opener. Arrieta started Game 4 of that series as well, and gave up one run on two hits over four innings, but he walked five. The Dodgers know Arrieta well. He threw his first career no-hitter against them in August 2015, which is his only win against them in five starts. A free agent after this season, this could be Arrieta's last start at Wrigley Field for the Cubs. -- ESPNChicago.com Starting pitchers do matter in October! Why the Hill-Lester matchup is so important By David Schoenfield If the first round of the 2017 playoffs was defined by chaotic craziness, from starting pitchers getting shelled to defensive blunders of game-changing magnitude to managers hyper-ventilating with bullpen usage, we’ve had a return to normalcy after the first three games of the League Championship Series. The Yankees and Astros have played two crisp, low-scoring games with Justin Verlander throwing a complete-game masterpiece in Game 2. And in Game 1 of the NLCS, Jose Quintana and Clayton Kershaw delivered solid enough performances, both going five innings and allowing two runs. It’s a reminder that even though managers continue to shift more innings from starters to relievers in the postseason, you still need good starting pitching if you expect to win the World Series. As much as the idea of relying on a conga line of flame-throwing relievers feels like the future of baseball, the early games of the playoffs exposed the risks of that formula -- unless you have a bullpen that goes seven or eight deep, like the Yankees do. Otherwise, you’re exposing lesser relievers to critical situations, expanding the role of your best relievers, or using starters in an unfamiliar position. That’s why the matchup of Chicago's Jon Lester versus Los Angeles' Rich Hill still looms as the most important facet of Sunday’s Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. In Lester’s case, the struggling Cubs bullpen needs him to deliver some length to his outing. Right now, Joe Maddon doesn’t know exactly whom to trust in his relief corps other than closer Wade Davis. In Hill’s case, the Dodgers' bullpen suddenly looks like a dominant force, which means if he can hand the ball to the relievers with a lead, there’s a strong likelihood of the Dodgers heading to Wrigley Field with a 2-0 series lead. Of the 19 games played in the wild-card round and the Division Series, a starter failed to go five innings 20 times and got knocked out before finishing even three innings nine times. Hill understands the nature of the quick hook in the postseason and said this is one area where experience does help. “If you take a guy who is younger, he may be thinking about the hook quicker,” Hill noted. “If you take a guy who is more experienced, it’s a pitch-to-pitch process, and all you’re thinking about is executing that pitch that you have on hand, and that’s it. Whether it’s your first pitch or last pitch, you have no control over that. The only thing you have control over is your effort and the intensity that you bring out there to the mound.” This will be just the sixth postseason start of Hill’s career, but he speaks with the wisdom of someone who pitched in his first postseason in 2007 with the Cubs -- and didn’t appear in one again until last year with the Dodgers. In those intervening years, he battled injuries, wildness and ineffectiveness, and his transaction log is littered with more moves than a Yasiel Puig home run trot. He was released three times and granted free agency numerous other times. Just three years ago, the Angels purchased him and then cut him after two appearances in which he didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced. In his start against the Diamondbacks in the Division Series, Hill didn’t have his best command, struggling through 78 pitches in just four innings, allowing two runs and surviving three walks. It was his second-lowest rate of strikes of any start on the season and the D-backs swung at just 31 percent of his curveballs, his signature pitch that has turned him into a quality starter the past two seasons.

His plan for facing the Cubs isn’t complicated. “They’ve done enough video and enough homework on all of us, right? But my approach isn’t going to change. It’s just attack and continue to throw strikes. Make them swing the bat. I think that’s something that I feel comfortable in and I don’t really mind sharing because they know that or any team that’s faced me all year, they’ll come up to the plate saying, ‘He’s going to be strike one, he’s coming right at you.’” Hill at least knows that manager Dave Roberts may only ask for five innings out of him, given the way Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen are throwing in relief right now. The Cubs' bullpen, however, has allowed 16 runs in 20 ⅓ innings in the postseason with nearly as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17) -- and those numbers include Lester’s own relief outing against the Nationals in which he allowed one run in 3 ⅓ innings. The state of the Chicago bullpen and the state of the series puts Maddon in a tough position with Lester. Down 1-0 means there’s a certain urgency to not leave a starting pitcher in too long; but handing three or four innings to the bullpen seems even riskier right now. “We have to get our bullpen in order,” Maddon said after the Game 1 loss. “We have to be able to hold small deficits or small leads in the middle and then hopefully get to Wade in a positive situation.” Of course, if anybody is likely to deliver a clutch outing, it’s Lester, the guy appearing in his eighth postseason with a career 2.57 ERA over 143 innings. Maddon likes to say managing is more about knowing the heartbeat of the players. Well, he knows Lester’s heartbeat will be slow. Lester also knows the Cubs have faced these kinds of situations before, noting ,“We went through a lot last year in the postseason. I think we were down last year when we came in here. We were down in the World Series. So we know that we can come back in big situations.” This is one of those matchups buried within in a series that makes the postseason special beyond just which team ultimately wins the World Series, these two veteran lefties with vastly different arcs to their careers. Both have overcome personal crisis in the past -- Lester had lymphoma early in his career, Hill’s infant son died in 2014 -- and both love the challenge of staring down a tough opponent. “You get out there in these games and the adrenaline and excitement kind of take over,” Lester said. “So you don’t really worry about how tired you are. You just try to play baseball.” -- ESPNChicago.com Your guide to Game 2 of the NLCS -- Cubs look to Lester to even series By David Schoenfield You don't want to overreact to four playoff games, but the Dodgers look like they've brought their A-plus-game to the postseason, resembling the team that went 56-11 at one stretch. They're good enough that they don't need Clayton Kershaw to carry them like they have in the past and were happy to get five solid innings from him in Game 1. Yasiel Puig has been locked in so far, the bullpen suddenly looks like a shutdown crew and even emergency shortstop Charlie Culberson delivered a big sac fly and double in his first game filling in for Corey Seager. The most important thing of the day: Jon Lester has to go deep into the game. The Cubs bullpen has allowed 16 runs in 20.1 innings in six playoff games, with almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17). It has allowed five home runs after allowing three in 17 postseason games in 2016. The pen was solid enough in the regular season, but Joe Maddon doesn't really know who he can trust right now. "We have to get the bullpen in order," Maddon said after Game 1. The good news is that Wade Davis got a much-needed day of rest after throwing 44 pitches in the NLDS clincher. The stakes: The Dodgers have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Wrigley Field. This is the 10th postseason for the Dodgers since they last reached a World Series -- which would be the longest streak in

major league history if they don't advance this postseason (the A's and Braves have active streaks of nine straight such postseasons). If the Dodgers win: They would love to be up 2-0 for the Yu Darvish start in Game 3. With the Rangers, Darvish didn't exactly have a reputation as a big-game pitcher, as he gave up four home runs in a playoff start in 2016. He did well against the Diamondbacks, allowing one run in five innings, but Roberts pulled him quickly in the sixth after he hit the first batter. If the Cubs win: They will be ecstatic if they get a split at Dodger Stadium, and they have the right guy going. Lester is one of those guys who can keep his heartbeat slow during the postseason, with a career 2.57 ERA over 143.1 innings. One key stat to know: Puig hit his first career postseason home run as he continues to give the Dodgers patient, quality at-bats. Heading into the 2017 postseason, he had played 27 games and had been homerless in 76 at-bats, hitting .263/.325/.329. In four games this year, he's hitting .467/.529/.933, with two walks and just one strikeout. The whole playoff experience thing is usually overrated, but in Puig's case, it seems to ring true. Remember back to his first postseason when he was swinging at everything and struck out 14 times with one walk. His bat is also big because, with Seager out, they don't have as much lineup depth, especially against lefties. Puig actually struggled against lefties in the regular season (.197), but his home run came off southpaw reliever Mike Montgomery. The matchup that matters most: Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo versus the Dodgers' pitching staff. The Cubs are down, and it's time for the big boys to step up. Bryant has 11 K's in six playoff games -- to be fair, you try hitting Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer -- and has to get on base to give Rizzo some RBI opportunities. Rizzo, meanwhile, is just 4-for-23 in the postseason. The prediction: We'll see the same kind of game, with both starters battling to a draw. But Lester, pitching on three days of rest after throwing 55 pitches in Game 4 of the NLDS, doesn't go deep enough. The Cubs bullpen falters again -- Cody Bellinger, hello -- and the Dodgers win 4-3. -- ESPNChicago.com Cubs still can't find the winning card to play out of vulnerable bullpen By Jesse Rogers LOS ANGELES -- An overturned call at home plate in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers might get the headlines, but it shouldn't overshadow the emerging storyline of the defending champions in the 2017 postseason: Their bullpen stinks. It was bad in Round 1 against the Washington Nationals, and it has carried over to this series as Chicago's 2-0 lead and then a 2-2 tie turned into a 5-2 victory for the Dodgers after Cubs starter Jose Quintana was pulled after only five innings. "I thought he'd had it," manager Joe Maddon said after the loss. "Emotionally, he was pretty much drained at that point. The couple walks were indicators of that, right around 90 pitches after five, that's a pretty heavy load. Based on what he's been coming off of the last couple days, I thought it was the right time to get him out." Quintana had given up two runs in the fifth inning after walking two batters, but that, along with two hits, was all the damage he had incurred. Considering the 6.75 ERA compiled by the Cubs' bullpen in the division series, perhaps one more inning from Quintana was the better call. The left-hander thought so. "I tried," Quintana said of talking Maddon into staying in the game. "I always try. He's the boss and I respect that. ... All pitchers try to keep going. I have all [the] confidence in him and I respect the decision. We are a team. It's not about me."

Quintana didn't arrive in Los Angeles until 10 p.m. local time Friday because his wife became ill on the team plane on the trip from Washington overnight Thursday. His wife is OK, but maybe Maddon had it right about Quintana being emotionally spent. Besides, even if Quintana pitches the sixth inning, the Cubs still needed three shutdown frames from the bullpen. Maddon can't even get one these days. "That was a perfect situation for [Hector] Rondon," Maddon said. "Then on top of that, we had already scripted that was a perfect spot for [Mike] Montgomery, and neither situation worked out." Rondon had just been added to the postseason roster after being left off for Round 1. That can be viewed as a good thing or a bad one considering the rest of the bullpen was taxed -- but then again, Rondon hadn't pitched in a while. With the score tied 2-2, he promptly gave up a home run to Chris Taylor on a 97 mph fastball down the heart of the plate. "Just missed the location," Rondon said. "The ball ran a little bit to the center. When you miss, they make you pay." Was Rondon the right choice? These days, Maddon can't win either way. Perhaps he should lean on October veteran John Lackey a little more; he entered the game Saturday after most of the damage was done. It was his first appearance of the postseason, but considering his experience -- and the daily meltdowns on the relief staff -- perhaps Lackey's role should increase. At the same time, Montgomery's workload might need to be reduced, as the lefty is off to a horrible start to his October. He was asked to keep Chicago's deficit at one run Saturday, but a 3-2 lead for the Dodgers ballooned to 5-2 after Montgomery entered. He has given up eight hits, three walks, two home runs and five runs in only two innings in the postseason. Saturday's stint lasted an inning and included four hits and a free pass. "I just have to make better pitches," Montgomery said. "I haven't been commanding the ball the same way I want. That's part of the game. We're going up against good players that are going to take advantage of your mistakes." Walks continue to haunt the entire pen, a carryover from the second half of the regular season. Cubs relievers averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings after the All-Star break -- the highest rate in baseball. So far in October, they've issued 29 walks, most of any team, despite the New York Yankees having played two more games. "It's tough," closer Wade Davis said. "With all the adrenaline out there it's tough to keep your emotions under control and make pitches and think freely at the same time." Davis didn't participate in Saturday's Game 1 partly because the Cubs were losing and he had thrown 44 pitches in Game 5 against the Nationals on Thursday. He was needed in that way because the rest of the bullpen is simply unreliable right now. Davis is hoping that changes. Cubs fans everywhere must feel the same. "It's a lot easier to forget the day before in the postseason because you're only worried about winning," Davis said. "There are no numbers that matter. I think it can be easy to turn the page on these types of games." If the offense can't hit against Dodgers starters not named Clayton Kershaw, then it will also be scrutinized. But for now, the spotlight is on the bullpen. Maybe Cubs relievers can turn the page to the next day, but will a new story be written for them, or is it more of the same in Game 2? With Jon Lester coming off a 55-pitch relief effort Wednesday, he might need some help come Sunday evening. Who will Maddon turn to? There's no good answer right now. -- ESPNChicago.com With Puig leading the way, Dodgers remind Cubs (and Kershaw) this isn't 2016 By Bradford Doolittle

LOS ANGELES -- With one out in the Los Angeles Dodgers' half of the fifth inning, things were looking very 2016ish for Clayton Kershaw and his teammates. Then with one jolt from Yasiel Puig, we were reminded that it's not 2016 anymore, and Kershaw now has more help than ever. Puig hit his first career postseason homer and drove in a run with a double, and Chris Taylor hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth as the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Saturday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The win ended a five-game skid for the Dodgers in LCS Game 1s and marked only the second time in franchise history the Dodgers have began the postseason with four straight wins. Puig's performance was further evidence of a talented player who, at the most important time on the baseball calendar, is proving to his teammates that he's a guy on whom they can depend. "My teammates helped me a lot this year," said Puig, who is hitting .467 this postseason. "My manager and all the coaches, that's the reason I played better this year. I'm so proud of myself, and I want to keep going and do the best I can for my teammates and for myself." So he's better than ever? "No, when I was 5 years old, I played better," Puig said. Always the joker. Now back to that moment in the Dodgers' half of the fifth. It was 2-0, the Cubs on top. Kershaw had pitched fine, but a super-patient Chicago lineup had swung at only 39 percent of his pitches -- the lowest of any opponent this season. Finally, Albert Almora Jr. swung and planted one in the bleachers for a two-run shot. "It was OK," Kershaw said of his outing. "They battled and got my pitch count up there. They made me fight. Almora put a good swing on a ball that wouldn't have been a big deal if I hadn't fallen behind [Willson] Contreras to start that inning." It was the fifth homer Kershaw has given up during his two outings of this postseason, more than any Dodgers pitcher has given up during a single playoff year. The press box erupted in typed game narratives about Kershaw's ongoing October foibles. Part of that was because the lead felt much larger than it was and carried with it a heavy whiff of déjà vu, a reminder of last season, when Kershaw had no margin for error against the eventual champs. "We just tried to set a tone early against the Cubs," closer Kenley Jansen said. "We understand that they're the champions. They are a really good team. We understand that we won 104 games, but right now, it doesn't matter." Flashback: In Game 2 of last year's NLCS, Kershaw came through, logging seven shutout innings in a 1-0 L.A. victory. The run in that game scored in the second inning, and it was the last time the Dodgers had scored for Kershaw in NLCS action until the aforementioned Puig jolt. That included the last five innings that night, five innings of Kershaw's Game 6 loss and the first 4⅓ innings on Saturday, stretching the drought to 14⅓ innings. Back to the present and the key bottom of the fifth. Kiké Hernandez struck out against a rolling Jose Quintana to start the inning. At that point, Quintana had faced the minimum. Meanwhile, Kenta Maeda was throwing in the Dodgers' bullpen, and you figured there was a good chance that Kershaw was done after five innings and 87 pitches. That was the case, as he finished with a no-decision. "I always want to go as deep as I possibly can," Kershaw said. "I've never had a bad feeling about our bullpen. But realizing that it's one of our strengths, it doesn't change that I want to go as deep as I can. But it's easier to hand the ball off to those guys."

But before we knew for sure that Kershaw was finished, the familiar hallmarks of the 2017 Dodgers -- the NL's top seed, a team that won 104 games this season and swept its division series against Arizona -- re-asserted themselves in a most characteristic way. First, Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes waited out Quintana in consecutive at-bats, grinding their way into back-to-back free passes. "[The walks] were big," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And even from the beginning, from the first pitch, I thought our at-bat quality was very good. Yeah, those walks got him in the end." They also brought Puig to the plate. Boom! Puig sent a twisting drive to left-center and raised his arms in triumph even as the ball bounded off the wall. Forsythe scored. Then Charlie Culberson -- the unexpected starter at shortstop in place of injured Corey Seager -- tied the score with a sacrifice fly, riding the wave of energy Puig had just sent out over Dodger Stadium. "His energy is infectious," Culberson said. "When I'm on deck and he's up there doing his thing, I love it. I think our guys love it when he's like that. He's a great player, but he's a better player when he's like that." Patience, depth and power. These things have characterized the Dodgers' offense for months now. In Saturday's game, they got Quintana out after five innings and set up a game of bullpens. Frankly, that's a battle the Cubs are going to be hard-pressed to win in this series. Even Cubs manager Joe Maddon seems to realize this is a big difference between the teams over last season. "Right now, I think the biggest difference is we have to get our bullpen in order," Maddon said. "That's probably the biggest difference between both seasons. That we have to be able to hold small deficits or small leads in the middle and then hopefully get to [closer] Wade [Davis] in a positive situation. I think standing out right now, their bullpen is pretty firm, and we have to really get our feet back on the ground." For the Dodgers' bullpen advantage to pay off, they first needed a lead to protect. That's where journeyman-turned-leadoff-hitter Taylor came in. Taylor greeted a Hector Rondon fastball with a blast to right-center, putting L.A. up 3-2 to lead off the sixth. In doing so, he became the first Dodgers center fielder to put his team ahead with a homer in the sixth inning or later of a postseason game since Duke Snider in the 1952 World Series. "People use that word 'poise' a lot, but he has poise," Roberts said. "And in big spots, he has the ability to zone in and swing at strikes and take balls. He's done that all year for us. So to get that big homer to right center really didn't surprise us. Just another thing to add to his special season." With Seager out of the lineup and off the LCS roster, the Dodgers' lineup lacked a little of its usual firepower on paper, but Puig has emerged as a postseason hero with plenty of sizzle to go around. Leading off the seventh, he sent a soaring fly ball that kept pushing and pushing until Chicago's Kyle Schwarber ran out of room. The ball carried just past the wall in front of the first row of bleacher seats, giving Puig six RBIs in four games this postseason, more than he has had in his four previous playoff appearances combined. "When I hit it, I think that it's going, but later I see the left fielder say I got it, and I started running," Puig said. "I think the wind helped me a little bit tonight." As for that battle of the bullpens, it was no contest. The Dodgers tacked on another run in the seventh against a Chicago pen that has been giving up homers by the bushel this October. Meanwhile, Kershaw and relievers Tony Cingrani, Maeda, Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson and Jansen slammed the door, locked it, and threw they key into the Pacific Ocean.

The final 18 Cubs hitters went down in order after Almora's homer, the last four retired by Jansen, the game's best closer. Jansen became the first postseason pitcher to face at least four batters, strike them all out, and record a save. "I'm ready for it," Jansen said. "Last season I did it and I've prepared myself all season for it. I'm not trying to be a hero, but whatever the team needs me to do, I'm going to be ready to get our team in the best position to win the ballgame." What has been the explanation for Kershaw's up-and-down postseason career? Maybe we should be asking why Kershaw has always been expected to shoulder so much of the load. He no longer has to this season, and the Dodgers' revised formula just keeps working and working and working. That's four consecutive postseason victories and counting for a team that believes this is its season. With each high-stakes game they take, it's getting increasingly difficult to doubt the Dodgers' collective faith. That seemed starkly true on a day that began with the news that Seager, their 23-year-old superstar, was left off the LCS roster because of a sore back. It was almost as if that, with his teammate ailing, Puig took it upon himself to lift the spirits of everybody crammed into Chavez Ravine. "Losing Corey is no fun," Kershaw said. "It's one of the best players on our team. Other guys are going to have to step up and we saw that with [Culberson] tonight. "[Puig's focus has been] so impressive. The talent has always been there, and he goes through stretches where he does this. But for him to sustain it over the course of a whole game, every single pitch of every single at-bat, that's the potential that he has." -- ESPNChicago.com Joe Maddon tossed, likens home plate collision rule to Chicago's 'soda tax' By Jesse Rogers LOS ANGELES -- A call at home plate in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night was overturned by video replay due to the plate collision rule, drawing the ire of Chicago Cubs players and manager Joe Maddon, who was ejected for arguing the decision. Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Charlie Culberson tried to score from second on a single by Justin Turner and was initially called out by umpire Mike Winters for not touching home plate after evading Willson Contreras' tag. The Dodgers challenged the call on the grounds that Contreras broke rule 7.13, which states "unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe." After a video review, it was determined that Contreras blocked the plate before he received the ball. The overturned call gave the Dodgers a cushion run in their 5-2 victory. Afterward, Maddon voiced his displeasure -- not with the umpires but with the rule itself. "I could not disagree more with the interpretation of that," Maddon said. "I think it's wrong. I think anybody that's played major league or even minor league baseball will agree with me 100 percent on that." The rule in question was instituted prior to the 2014 season.

"The umpires did everything according to what they've been told," Maddon stated. "From Day 1, I've disagreed with the content of the rule. ... That was a beautifully done major league play that gets interpreted tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago. ... All rules or laws aren't necessarily good ones." Pitcher John Lackey, who gave up the hit to Turner, has long believed that baseball is going in the wrong direction with some of its new rules. "That's straight from New York," Lackey said. "We [Lackey and the umpires] had a discussion on how soft baseball is getting." Maddon said Contreras "did everything right" and added that there was nothing he could have done differently. "I think we need to go to Walmart, get some toys and then play," Contreras said sarcastically. "It was an amazing play. The ball took me to that position." Said Lackey: "It's sad. It's sad the direction our game has gone. Textbook play by the kid, and he got penalized for it." After the replay led to the call being overturned, Maddon stormed out of the dugout and began to argue. Winters, the crew chief, let him make a brief case before tossing him. Said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: "I looked at just like everyone else looked at it, and as the rule states, he was in violation." -- ESPNChicago.com Dodgers leave Corey Seager off NLCS roster due to back injury By Bradford Doolittle LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their 25-man roster for the National League Championship Series on Saturday, and in a stunning development, star shortstop Corey Seager is not on it. But the Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2 in Game 1. Seager was held out of the team's workouts the past two days at Dodger Stadium because of an ailing back, an injury that manager Dave Roberts said he suffered while sliding during Game 3 of Los Angeles' sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Division Series. The Dodgers said Seager received an epidural for a lower back injury and is officially listed as day-to-day. "It improved, but [not] enough to warrant him being out there," Roberts said. "It's still sore. Hasn't hit, hasn't moved around to see that he can not only take the field, but be effective out there. I think that we had to weigh everything." Infielder Charlie Culberson took Seager's place on the Dodgers' roster and started Saturday night's Game 1, batting eighth. Culberson finished 1-2 with a run, a double and an RBI. "Corey was open to everything," Roberts said. "But at the end, we decided that with the lefties that they've got potentially going against us and having Charlie being able to catch the baseball at short ... it just made sense for us to not have Corey on the roster." The Dodgers felt that the torque from swinging would have been too much for Seager at this stage of his recovery, a team source told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

"This sucks, to be honest," Seager said. "Obviously, you try to be the best teammate that you can right now and not be a distraction. Try to be as positive and inspirational [as possible] to help your team." Seager said that he will not travel with the team when the series shifts to Chicago for Game 3 on Tuesday. "I'm going to stay here while they're in Chicago," Seager said. "I can obviously travel, but it's just with the flights and stuff, it's not really productive at this point." On Friday, Roberts expressed optimism that Seager would be available. "As it came down to setting your roster and feeling is he able to feel confident in his body to not only be out there but to perform," Roberts said. "That's something that the doctors and training staff decided -- that to have him active wouldn't be the right thing to do." Seager, 23, was the NL Rookie of the Year last season. This season, he played in 145 games, batting .295 with 22 home runs and 77 RBIs. Seager started all three games against Arizona, going 3-for-11 with a triple and two RBIs. Seager had batted .292 (7-for-24) against the Cubs this season. "They lost a big bat at shortstop," Cubs pitcher Jon Lester said. "You never want to see anyone go down, but it definitely helps us on the pitching side." Theoretically, Seager could still play in the NLCS if another Dodgers player needed to be placed on the disabled list, in which case L.A. would be allowed to replace the injured player on the active roster. "It's all contingent upon his health, so right now he would be [ruled out]," Roberts said. "But in the coming days, if it continues to improve and we can test [it] and he can pass some tests, that's a different story. So a couple things right there have to happen for us to even entertain that." For now, Seager is hoping that he'll be available should his team advance to the World Series for the first time since 1988. "That's what we're hoping for," Seager said. "It gives you a little more time. I think next week is going to be kind of a big week to see if I can get back into baseball activities." During the regular season, utility player Enrique Hernandez received the second-most starts at shortstop behind Seager, followed by Chris Taylor, who has been L.A.'s starting center fielder during the postseason. Both are on the Dodgers' NLCS roster. Culberson started one game at short for L.A. this season, a 13-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 4 in which J.D. Martinez homered four times. Culberson went just 2-for-13 during the regular season. He's a career .231 hitter, including a .251 mark against lefties. "I think it's going to be one of those things where we don't know where the next guy's going to come from that's going to be supposedly the hero of a game or however you want to put it," said pitcher Rich Hill, the Dodgers' scheduled Game 2 starter. "But you can definitely kind of see that storyline building, I guess." Outfielder Joc Pederson was added to the roster for the NLCS, as the Dodgers opted to keep 14 position players and 11 pitchers. Lefty reliever Luis Avilan, who has been working out in hopes of returning from a shoulder injury, did not make the roster. Saturday marked the beginning of a rematch of last season's NLCS, won by the Cubs in six games. --

NBC Sports Chicago 5 depressing stats that highlight Cubs' postseason struggles By Tony Andracki Let's get something out of the way first: The Cubs are in the National League Championship Series and only trailing 1-0 after one game in which the team was mentally and physically drained following a lit, emotional NLDS Game 5 and subsequent cross-country journey from the east coast to the west coast which also included an emergency stop in New Mexico. Oh yeah and the Cubs also were forced to face the best pitcher on the planet. So there's no reason for Cubs fans to run for the hills waving their arms in panic and yelling obscenities. Also worth noting: This is a best-of-7 series, so there's not quite as much randomness and there is more time for the Cubs to right the ship and clinch their second straight World Series bid. But for right now, things are bleak and here are the main reasons why: Jose Quintana has the second-highest postseason batting average on the Cubs. Everybody is complaining about the bullpen, and they are due their fair share of frustration from the Cubs' fanbase over the last six games. More on that to come. But the offense has been horrendous in October. They finished the NLDS with a .180 batting average and somehow went DOWN in Game 1 of the NLCS. The Cubs are now hitting .172 (31-for-180) as a team with only Albert Almora Jr. (3-for-9) and Quintana (1-for-4) hitting above .222. Batting average isn't everything, of course, but hits are still the best way to score runs and scoring runs is still necessary to wins. The Cubs scored 9 runs in NLDS Game 5. They have 10 runs in the four other postseason games combined. Besides Game 5, the Cubs have averaged 2 runs per game this fall. Sure, all six of those games have been started by National League Cy Young finalists (Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez), but the Cubs keep reiterating that if they want to be the best, they gotta beat the best. They just aren't beating the best offensively this fall. It's not like they faced scrubs in the magical 2016 World Series run, either, forced to face Kershaw twice plus Corey Kluber three times in the World Series and Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto on the NLDS. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have combined for 18 Ks and only 3 BBs. That's a 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In the 2017 regular season, the two superstars combined for 218 strikeouts compared to 186 walks. That's a 1.17:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. You want to know why the offense has struggled? Its two best hitters have regressed mightily. But they have found ways to drive in 8 runs and of course, there are still at least three games to climb out of their funk.

Rizzo was off to a rough start to the postseason last year, too, and found his groove again at Dodger Stadium. Matt Szczur isn't around to lend Rizzo his bat again, but can the face of the Cubs find his groove in Hollywood Sunday? Four Cubs relievers have combined for a 17.06 ERA and 3.16 WHIP. Carl Edwards Jr., Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon and John Lackey have combined to surrender 12 earned runs, 20 baserunners and four homers in 6.1 innings. Lackey and Rondon just pitched for the first time Saturday, combining to get 6 outs while allowing two hits, a walk, a run and a homer. It's Edwards and Montgomery that are killing the Cubs out of the bullpen. Two of the most important relievers in Maddon's bullpen have struggled to gain any semblance of rhythm this October and that needs to change immediately if the Cubs have any visions of heading to Houston or New York later this month. Wade Davis has saved three games and bailed the Cubs out big time in Game 5 Thursday, but he's still allowed seven baserunners (three walks and four hits, including a homer) and two runs in 4.1 innings, so he's been far from a shutdown reliever, too. Brian Duensing and Pedro Strop have combined to allow only three baserunners in 4.2 innings (two walks and a hit) and just one run. So maybe they see their number called more as this NLCS moves along. The starting rotation has just a 1-1 record. Wins are a completely overrated stat, but the Cubs starters have been absolutely incredible this postseason. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and Jose Quintana have teamed up for this stat line in their starts: 1.99 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 19 hits, 7 earned runs, 14 walks, 30 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. That's the kind of line that should elicit far more than a 1-1 record, especially when going up against the high-powered offenses of Washington and Los Angeles. -- NBC Sports Chicago Jose Quintana matched Clayton Kershaw after Cubs diverted plane for his wife’s medical condition By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – What a physically grueling and emotionally draining stretch for Jose Quintana, who wanted so bad to be in the playoffs but couldn’t have imagined the highs and lows quite like this. On top of the Cubs playing their third game in four days in three different time zones – and a week where he already matched up against Max Scherzer and worked out of the bullpen Thursday night to help eliminate the Washington Nationals – Quintana felt the anxiety and handled a family emergency. The victory flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to the West Coast got diverted to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday morning when Quintana’s wife, Michel, experienced a panic attack. The Cubs waited until Saturday to make what sounded like an obvious announcement: Quintana would be their Game 1 starter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. “She was just nervous,” Quintana said after a 5-2 loss at Dodger Stadium where he was just as good as Clayton Kershaw. “That’s the first time it happened like that on a plane. I just tried to relax her, and the doctor said: ‘We have time. We can stop and she can go to the hospital.’”

At that point, the Cubs needed a new flight crew, but from the moment he arrived in a midseason trade with the White Sox, teammates and staffers have been impressed by Quintana’s attitude and professionalism. “We spent five hours on the tarmac,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Nobody complained. It was an empathic moment. Everybody understood what's going on. As a human being, you're concerned for other human beings. “Q got off the plane. He spent some time, (talking to) our team doctor, everything seems to be well. Q got his rest. We contacted him. He felt good about pitching. “It was a human moment. We’re playing a game. When you’re dealing with human beings, people take priority. I was really pleased with the way our group handled the situation. And I really respect Q's word. He said he's ready to rock 'n' roll, so we believe him.” Quintana strung together four scoreless innings but seemed to wear down in the fifth against a Los Angeles lineup that is still tough even without All-Star shortstop Corey Seager. Quintana walked Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes in back-to-back at-bats, setting up two runs for the Dodgers and a bullpen battle that the Cubs would not win. “I can’t imagine how that went for him,” outfielder Kyle Schwarber said. “I’m glad everyone’s OK there. For him to come out and do what he did there – keeping them to two runs – it was pretty big. Obviously, it just didn’t work out for us today.” The Cubs are learning what Quintana is all about, keeping his team viable while Scherzer flirts with a no-hitter, getting two outs as a reliever in an elimination game and canceling out Kershaw after five innings. “My mind is strong,” Quintana said. “You want to go out there for your team. You got to push through it.” -- NBC Sports Chicago Joe Maddon flips out, comparing MLB home-plate rule to Chicago soda tax By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – John Lackey, baseball culture warrior, gave an instant analysis before walking through Dodger Stadium’s visiting clubhouse on Saturday night: “It’s sad that’s the direction our game’s gotten. That’s a textbook play by a kid and he got penalized for it.” But did the seventh-inning play the Cubs kept talking about – and kept getting asked about – really matter? Eh, sort of. It meant one run and a momentum swing – against a Dodger team that looks much sharper than the Washington Nationals and still had star closer Kenley Jansen waiting for a four-out save. At least it gave manager Joe Maddon a distraction – and a chance to vent – after he got ejected from a 5-2 loss that put the Cubs down 0-1 in the National League Championship Series. “That was a beautifully done major-league play all the way around,” Maddon said. “That gets interpreted kind of like tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago, for me.” To reset: Justin Turner, a .300 hitter, singles into left field off Lackey, who almost never pitches out of the bullpen. Kyle Schwarber, who’s worked hard to shed his reputation as a bad defender after the 2015 NLCS, gathers himself and fires the ball to catcher Willson Contreras. Trying to score from second base, Charlie Culberson slides but does not touch home plate, where Contreras had set up a partial roadblock. After a Dodger challenge and a replay review that lasted 2 minutes and 45 seconds, the call on the field is overturned. Dodgers 5, Cubs 2. Maddon goes wild. “I saw a great baseball play,” Maddon said. “I saw Schwarber come in on a grounded ball, use his feet perfectly, make a low, great throw to the plate that could have been cut off.

“Perfect skip-hop, great play by Contreras, the ball kind of taking Willson towards the line, towards foul territory. He catches the ball, and his technique was absolutely 100 percent perfect. “I could not disagree more with the interpretation of that. However, I will defend the umpires. The umpires did everything according to what they've been told. But from Day 1, I have totally disagreed with the content of that rule. I think it's wrong.” So is your objection to the specific call, or to The Buster Posey Rule, even though it was called correctly? “See, I don't think the rule was called correctly, either,” Maddon said. “From what I saw, the ball took Willson toward that line. I disagree with that, so I disagree with it on both counts, Your Honor.” Schwarber’s perspective as someone who came up as a catcher and could still get behind the plate if needed: “I still think the rule’s pretty vague. I know you have to give them the lane. That’s what it looked like at first – Willson actually did give him the lane. And then the ball was coming in, he stepped into the lane. That’s pretty much how we’re taught.” In the end, maybe that call wouldn’t have made a difference and Jansen simply would’ve closed out a 4-2 game. But this is also the eighth playoff round for the Cubs since 2015, so they know how much all the little things matter and how you can’t give an inch. “I’m defending my plate,” Contreras said. “I would not change anything. If I had to do that again, I would do it again.” -- NBC Sports Chicago 5 takeaways from Game 1: Dodgers embrace the target, take aim at Cubs By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – Embrace the Target: The Los Angeles Dodgers know this is a World Series-or-bust season after 104 wins, five straight division titles, a payroll soaring past $200 million and zero National League pennants since 1988. This looks close enough to the 2016 Cubs – adapted for Hollywood and without all the Wrigleyville quirks – that the 2017 Cubs will have to play a much sharper overall game in the NL Championship Series than they did against the Washington Nationals in the first round. The Dodgers have so many counterpunches that knocking Clayton Kershaw out after five innings didn’t really matter in a 5-2 Game 1 loss on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. These Cubs also don’t seem to do anything easy or mind playing with their backs against the wall or in front of a sellout crowd of 54,289. With that in mind, here are four more takeaways from Chavez Ravine: ** This has been an emotional whirlwind for Jose Quintana, who wanted all the pressure and expectations that came with a contender after getting traded from the White Sox. Quintana got two outs as a reliever in Thursday night’s epic clincher in Washington, and enjoyed the celebration into Friday morning until his wife, Michel, experienced a panic attack, forcing the team’s charter flight to divert to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Cubs waited until Saturday to officially announce their Game 1 starter (an otherwise obvious choice). Running on adrenaline, Quintana put up four scoreless innings but seemed to wear down in the fifth, giving up back-to-back walks to Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes that set up two runs for Los Angeles in what would ultimately become a battle of the bullpens.

** Wade Davis can’t get seven-out (or four-inning) saves every night. Second-guess manager Joe Maddon all you want, but there are not many good options here. Hector Rondon, who was snubbed from the last playoff roster and hadn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 29, gulped after watching Chris Taylor hammer his second pitch (a 97.3-mph fastball) into the right-center-field seats for the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. Yasiel Puig homered off Mike Montgomery in the seventh inning, when the Cubs handed the ball to John Lackey, who has made two relief appearances in a big-league career that began in 2002. “We’re bullish on bullpens this time of the year,” Maddon said. “These guys are the reason we’re here in the first place. They had great seasons. So we all stub our toes on occasion. Nobody's perfect. Again, this is not a robotic game. This is not fantasy baseball. These are real people playing it. So for us (to) win eight more games, we have to utilize this entire group.” ** Albert Almora Jr. will never be intimidated by the big stage or a three-time Cy Young Award winner, launching Kershaw’s 3-2 slider into the left-field seats for a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Almora crushes left-handed pitching (.898 OPS this season) and that will matter with the Dodgers lining up Rich Hill and Alex Wood for Games 2 and 4 and Kershaw still looming. At the age of 23 and with several playoff moments already on his personal highlight reel, Almora is showing why the Cubs made him the first player drafted by the Theo Epstein regime, recognizing his fearlessness and baseball IQ after growing up in Miami, playing for Team USA and against elite competition year-round. ** The Dodgers will not be quite the same team without Corey Seager, the All-Star shortstop they left off the NLCS roster while he recovers from a back injury. The Dodgers are built upon the depth and versatility that shows up more across a 162-game season, and Charlie Culberson is not a name to game-plan around during the playoffs. Seager also ranked third among all big-league shortstops with 10 defensive runs saved this season, the two-way excellence that made him last year’s unanimous NL Rookie of the Year. Just ask Game 2 starter Jon Lester what Seager means to the Los Angeles lineup: “Probably like a ‘K.B.’ (Kris Bryant) or (Anthony) Rizzo.” -- NBC Sports Chicago Cubs NLCS rotation makes sense, even if it looks weird By Tony Andracki The Cubs announced the rest of their rotation for the National League Championship Series during the first couple innings of Game 1 Saturday evening. While Jose Quintana was dueling against Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium, the Cubs announced Kyle Hendricks would pitch Game 3 and Jake Arrieta will go in Game 4 of the NLCS back at Wrigley Field Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. So the NLCS will line up like this: Game 1: Quintana vs. Kershaw Game 2: Jon Lester vs. Rich Hill Game 3: Kyle Hendricks vs. Yu Darvish Game 4: Jake Arrieta vs. Alex Wood

The Cubs' decision is a bit curious given Arrieta's turn should come after Lester. Hendricks started Game 5 and battled through four innings against the Washington Nationals. Arrieta also lasted just four innings in his start Wednesday in Game 4 of the NLDS and he looked just a bit off after missing much of the last month with a hamstring issue. The move to bump Hendricks over Arrieta makes sense given teams are always trying to find ways to get their best pitchers on the mound as often as possible. It's just foreign to see the only Cy Young Award winner on the staff as the No. 4 starter. But Tuesday will represent regular rest for Hendricks while Arrieta gets an extra day to give him more time to get back to the guy who went 7-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 11 starts in July and August. Lester and Quintana are not on regular rest, however, as both pitched in relief in Games 4 and 5 Wednesday and Thursday. Lester tossed 55 pitches out of the bullpen Wednesday but then had Game 5 off to...sit back and relax. A special bonus of the rotation is Cubs fans are guaranteed to see at least one more Arrieta start at Wrigley Field before he hits free agency this winter. -- NBC Sports Chicago Already pushed to the limit, Cubs need Wade Davis to be calm in middle of storm vs. Dodgers By Patrick Mooney Wade Davis knew Bryce Harper desperately wanted to be the hero, to finally change the perception of the Washington Nationals in October and take down the defending World Series champs. The Cubs closer noticed how hard the young superstar swung through a first-pitch cutter, a 97-win team now down to its final out, Thursday night at Nationals Park already turning into Friday morning. Harper took the next pitch, fouled off a 94.8-mph fastball and then stared at two more (93.4 mph and 95 mph), working the count to 3-2 while Davis pushed himself toward a seven-out save, something he had never done before. Davis, who talks to himself on the mound but never really shows his true emotions, unleashed an 89.9-mph cutter that looked like it fell off a table, Harper whiffing as the exclamation point to a 9-8 game and a fantastic National League Division Series and the start of a wild celebration. “You’re trying to stay relaxed,” Davis said. “He put such an aggressive swing (on it) the first swing. I was kind of hoping he would stay that aggressive and maybe use that to our advantage. We got to the last pitch and he was still pretty aggressive.” The Cubs will absolutely need that ability to be the calm in the middle of the storm, make adjustments in real time and neutralize the Los Angeles Dodgers who got a “Best. Team. Ever?” Sports Illustrated cover in late August (before losing 16 of 17 games). Aroldis Chapman came close, but even he didn’t throw 44 pitches in a playoff game during last year’s World Series run. It’s not a great look when the Cubs drop from the playoff roster their big move to strengthen the bullpen at the July 31 trade deadline (Justin Wilson) and add an ex-closer clearly outside Joe Maddon’s circle of trust (Hector Rondon) for this NL Championship Series rematch.

The Cubs had two chances to eliminate the Nationals and Maddon deployed a $155 million middle reliever (Jon Lester), used Saturday night’s Game 1 starter at Dodger Stadium (Jose Quintana) and pulled his top setup guy in the middle of an at-bat and after walking one hitter on five pitches (Carl Edwards Jr.). The Cubs faced 190 total batters during that five-game series against the Nationals and 91 percent went to the playoff rotation (Kyle Hendricks, Lester, Quintana, Jake Arrieta) or the late-game bullpen (Davis, Edwards, Pedro Strop). “Of course, we’ve got to be really mindful of Wade,” Maddon said, explaining why the Cubs would lean against adding another pitcher for the NLCS. “But you need the bench to match up like we were able to match up in some of these games — the pinch-hitting being aggressive, the defensive maneuvering being aggressive. “It's just the way of the world right now. The days off still are beneficial, two on, one off, three on, one off. It's still beneficial regarding keeping your bullpen in order.” The 2017 Dodgers are a more dynamic team than the one that put up a major-league worst .622 OPS against left-handed pitchers last season, boosting that total 167 points during a 104-win campaign. These Dodgers also apparently have enough depth to keep All-Star shortstop Corey Seager (back injury) off their initial NLCS roster. Between Maddon’s reputation (fair or not) and Davis about to become a free agent, the Chapman comparisons will be coming. But maybe think of Davis as this year’s Kenley Jansen, who pitched multiple innings and covered for weaker spots in the bullpen and willingly went outside his comfort zone. It wasn’t enough to get the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988 — and the Cubs aren’t in the business of matching almost-recording-setting contracts for closers — but Jansen did return to Los Angeles on a five-year, $80 million deal. That is a discussion for the winter, and when the Cubs see Davis jogging out of the bullpen, they feel like their playoff run is only just getting started. “He’s a stud,” said Ben Zobrist, who played with Davis on the 2015 Kansas City Royals team that won a World Series title. “He’s got the postseason experience. And everybody knows he’s got ice in his veins, so there’s no moment that’s going to get the best of him.” -- Chicago Tribune Bullpen's failure, Joe Maddon's decisions cost Cubs more than play at plate By David Haugh Welcome to the Cubs playoff roster, Hector Rondon. The Dodgers sure are glad you made it. Center fielder Chris Taylor greeted the Cubs reliever to the postseason by sending Rondon's second pitch to start the sixth inning 401 feet into the right-center-field bleachers for a solo home run that revived a late-arriving, sellout Dodger Stadium crowd of 54,289 and propelled the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory. What is it with players named Taylor killing the Cubs in October? First, Michael Taylor of the Nationals hit two home runs in consecutive National League Division Series games and now comes Chris of the Dodgers to change Game 1 of the NLCS. Chris Taylor's clutch homer will do nothing but empower critics of Cubs manager Joe Maddon convinced he overmanages in the postseason. Maddon had valid reasons to replace starter Jose Quintana with Rondon — the Dodgers had two right-handed hitters lined up to face a tired Quintana and Rondon had thrown 10 scoreless innings since Aug. 23. But if Rondon

had been so effective lately, why wasn't he on the NLDS roster instead of Justin Wilson? And this was a pitcher who had given up 10 home runs in 571/3 innings during the season. So second-guess away. As rocky as Quintana was in the fifth inning, taking him out after 89 pitches made it fair to wonder what the rush was to get to a weary Cubs bullpen that needed six relievers to survive Game 5 against the Nationals 48 hours earlier. "I thought he'd had it,'' Maddon said. "Emotionally, he was pretty much drained at that point.'' Maddon spent the rest of the postgame news conference addressing a controversial play that didn't affect the game as much as the bullpen's failure, the offense's ineffectiveness or his own judgment. Relievers Rondon and Mike Montgomery gave up home runs and the Cubs managed four hits, so remember that when declaring how wonderful it was that Maddon made a strong stand against a weak rule. Umpires ejected Maddon in the sixth inning for arguing after a replay review reversed a call, declaring Dodgers shortstop Charlie Culberson safe because Willson Contreras broke one of baseball's most hotly contested rules by sliding his left foot in front of the plate. With the intent of getting tossed, Maddon charged from the dugout immediately. "I have to stick up for my boys,'' Maddon said. "I've got to stick up for everybody that plays this game.'' On a roll, Maddon compared the rule to Chicago's recently repealed soda tax. He waxed eloquently about catchers' rights and umpires' dilemmas. Of the 15 questions asked, 12 of them concerned that play. One reporter even began by saying, "Pardon me for the subject change…" Pardon me, but that wasn't why the Cubs lost Game 1. This was a pitchers' duel that turned into a chess match between two managers who love to tinker. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts started it by replacing the best pitcher on the planet, Clayton Kershaw, after 87 pitches, one of which Albert Almora Jr. crushed for a two-run homer. Maddon countered by taking out Quintana after a shaky fifth. Surrendering only two hits, Quintana gave up two walks and a run-scoring double to Yasiel Puig that cost him the chance to go deeper and potentially prevent Rondon from entering. Before that, Quintana faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings and commanded his fastball on both sides of the plate with pinpoint control. Most impressively, Quintana demonstrated laser focus despite the personal crisis that preceded his second postseason start. Quintana's wife, Michel, encountered issues with an irregular heartbeat during the Cubs' overnight flight from Washington after Game 5 of the NLDS, forcing the team plane to divert to Albuquerque, N.M. He accompanied his wife to a local hospital. Quintana's state of mind concerned the team enough to delay the decision about him starting Game 1 until Saturday. Quintana arrived in LA about 10 p.m. Friday and, by late Saturday morning, Cubs President Theo Epstein had reached out to check on his lefty. Everybody agreed the original plan was the right one. After throwing 12 pitches Thursday against the Nationals in a rare relief appearance, Quintana still wanted the ball. You saw why the Cubs wanted Quintana to meet this moment, from his first pitch through his last one. He deserved a shot to start the sixth. "I felt fine,'' Quintana said. "I wanted to continue to do my job. I respect his decision and it happened.'' As for the lineup behind Quintana, the Cubs really should consider finding a sponsor for Maddon's daily surprise. This time, Maddon raised eyebrows by inserting Kyle Schwarber into the lineup against Kershaw, whom he hadn't faced. Following his gut, Maddon figured hitters on both sides of the plate struggle against Kershaw, so why not play someone who might hit a mistake into the palm trees beyond right field? Schwarber went 0-for-3.

The Dodgers countered with an even bigger stunner that could affect the series more than any umpire's call or manager's lineup decision: They left All-Star shortstop Corey Seager off the playoff roster because of an ailing back. Seager can play in the NLCS only if the Dodgers add him because of an injury to another player — a possibility no conspiracy theorist should rule out for a team that likes to engage in gamesmanship. Game 2 starter Jon Lester compared the Dodgers' loss of Seager to the Cubs losing Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo. "That's a fair comparison,'' Maddon said. The Cubs caught a break with Seager's injury. But, as Rondon found out, the deep and dangerous Dodgers have many players who can ruin your night. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs bullpen struggles again in NLCS-opening loss to Dodgers By Mark Gonzales Closer Wade Davis said he'll be ready to pitch Sunday night if needed for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. But Davis could only watch helplessly as the Cubs bullpen's struggles continued Saturday night in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. Hector Rondon allowed a tie-breaking home run to Chris Taylor, and Mike Montgomery surrendered a homer to Yasiel Puig that allowed the Dodgers to pull away after once trailing 2-0. The Cubs' bullpen has a 7.08 ERA in the first six games of the playoffs, including Thursday's 9-8 win at Washington in which the relievers allowed four runs and eight walks and needed Davis to throw 2 1/3 innings and 43 pitches. "It’s been a pretty vicious cycle the past 48 hours, it feels like," Davis said of the travel and struggles. "But we got some time to get some good sleep and come back (Sunday)." Davis, who has pitched in two World Series with the Kansas City Royals (2014-15), expressed some empathy for Rondon, who wasn't active for the NL Division Series. "That’s tough, especially with all the adrenaline out there," Davis said. "It’s tough no matter what, to keep your emotions under control and make pitches and think freely at the same time. It’s good for him to get out there and get it out of the way." Davis didn't see the need for a pep talk to his fellow relievers. "Our main goal in there is everyone is a leader, and that’s what we try to instill in ourselves, especially in these games," Davis said. "For some reason, I feel it’s a lot easier to forget the day before in a postseason game because you’re only worried about winning. "There are no numbers or nothing that matters. I think it will be easy to turn the page on these type of games and keep competing." -- Chicago Tribune 8 pivotal moments from Cubs' 5-2 loss to Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS By Paul Skrbina

1. After Willson Contreras singled sharply to center field to start the fourth inning, Albert Almora Jr. lined a two-run homer over the left-field wall off Clayton Kershaw to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead against the three-time Cy Young winner. But the Cubs didn't manage another baserunner the rest of the game against Kershaw and five Dodgers relievers. 2. Cubs starter Jose Quintana struck out Kike Hernandez to start the Dodgers fifth, but walked Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes back-to-back to prompt a visit from pitching coach Chris Bosio. Quintana had allowed just one hit and no baserunners before that. 3. With chants of "Let's go, Puig" filling Dodger Stadium, Yasiel Puig doubled off the left-field wall to cut the Dodgers' deficit in half. Charlie Culberson, who started just one game at shortstop during the regular season, started this game in place of Corey Seager, who was left off the roster with a back injury. Culberson's sacrifice fly scored Barnes with the tying run. "That sac fly was huge," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He got behind 0-2 and dug a breaking ball out and lifted it to left field. That was a huge run for us." 4. Tony Cingrani, a Lincoln-Way Central graduate, started the sixth inning, ending Kershaw's night on the mound, and was the first of five relievers to hold the Cubs without a baserunner for the rest of the game. 5. Quintana, who became the first pitcher with a hit off Kershaw in the postseason with his leadoff single in the third, was pulled after five innings in favor of Hector Rondon, who allowed a home run to Chris Taylor on his second pitch to put the Dodgers ahead 3-2. "I thought he had it. Emotionally he was pretty much drained at that point. The couple walks of were indicators of that, right around 90 pitches after five, that's a pretty heavy load. Based on what he has been coming off of the last couple of days, I thought it was the right time to get him out," manager Joe Maddon said. 6. Puig hit one over the wall and Kyle Schwarber's glove, barely, to lead off the seventh against Mike Montgomery. Culberson then doubled to left field and Taylor reached on an infield single before John Lackey made his first postseason appearance for the Cubs. "I was calling off Jon Jay," Schwarber said. "'Hey, man, I got it.' It kept going." "When I hit it, I think that it's going, but later I see the left fielder say 'I got it,' and I started running," Puig said. "I think the wind helped me a little bit tonight." 7. Lackey immediately allowed an RBI single to Justin Turner to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. Culberson initially was called out on the play after Kyle Schwarber's throw and Willson Contreras' tag, but the call was overturned because Contreras was ruled to have blocked the runner's path to the plate. Maddon raced from the Cubs dugout and was ejected for arguing the call. "That was a beautifully done major-league play all the way around," Maddon said. "That gets interpreted kind of like tantamount to the soda tax in Chicago, for me." "A rule is a rule," Schwarber said. 8. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen struck out Anthony Rizzo, Contreras and Ian Happ in order in the ninth to end the game and give his team a 1-0 lead in the series. -- Chicago Tribune Walks, relief woes resurface for Cubs in NLCS Game 1 loss to Dodgers By Mark Gonzales

Fatigue didn't set in Saturday night for the Cubs as much as another outbreak of control problems, an ineffective bullpen and a dormant offense. By the time manager Joe Maddon released some frustration in the form of an ejection, the Dodgers were putting the finishing touches on their 5-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. Just like their deciding victory of the NL Division Series in Washington that ended early Friday morning, there was plenty to assess for a Cubs team that suddenly lost a 2-0 lead against three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, who likely will be without two-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager for the rest of this series. The Cubs' biggest issue is their weary bullpen, which allowed three runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Hector Rondon, who was added to the roster this series to provide a fresh arm, allowed a tie-breaking home run to Chris Taylor in the sixth, and left-hander Mike Montgomery surrendered a homer to Yasiel Puig in the seventh. To add to the Cubs frustration, Willson Contreras was found in violation of the rule requiring catchers to allow baserunners a path to home plate. That reversed an out call and enabled Charlie Culberson — Seager's replacement — to score an insurance run in the seventh. The Cubs felt cheated when a review overturned the call in which Contreras initially had tagged Culberson, who had to slide around him as he unsuccessfully tried to touch home plate with his hand. Maddon wasn't shy about expressing his displeasure with the ruling. "I could not disagree more with the interpretation of that (call)," Maddon said. "However, I will defend the umpires. The umpires did everything according to what they've been told, but I have totally disagreed with the content of the rule." Veteran pitcher John Lackey, who saw the play close up, was more blunt. "It's sad, the direction our game has gone," Lackey said. "That's a textbook play by a kid (Contreras), and he got penalized for it." The real frustration was at the plate, however. After Albert Almora Jr. hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Kershaw, the next 18 batters went down in order. The Dodgers used five relievers after Kershaw was pulled after the fifth. "It's pretty frustrating," Addison Russell said. "We planned to go into battle against that guy. When you see him leave a game like that, there's a sense of just try to change our approach. We had some good at-bats and hoped maybe the lineup could (succeed further against him getting) a third chance, but that was a good managing move on their side." Maddon thought Quintana was fatigued during a 29-pitch fifth in which he walked Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes. They both scored to tie the game. "I think everything changed after two walks," said Quintana, who said he felt fine but respected Maddon's decision. "It can't happen in games like that, especially on the second one where I was trying to get a ground-ball double play." Quintana said he felt fine after an emotional 48 hours in which he said his wife took ill after taking some medicine on the team flight to Los Angeles. The two of them got off the plane in Albuquerque, N.M., and didn't reach LA until 10 p.m. Friday.

"She feels fine," Quintana said. But the same can't be said for the bullpen. "I've been feeling very good, and the intensity went up," Rondon said. "When you miss the pitch, they make you pay, especially in the playoffs. "I made a mistake. (Taylor) got me." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs bats don't pop, but Joe Maddon does during and after Game 1 of NLCS By Paul Sullivan America was introduced to Chicago's pop tax controversy Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, a reminder that you never know what Joe Maddon is going to do next. Livid over the play-at-the-plate ruling that overturned an out call and gave the Dodgers a seventh-inning run in their 5-2 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Maddon compared the rule that prohibits catchers from blocking the plate to the tax that has been debated in Chicago for months. "It's tantamount to the soda tax," Maddon told reporters, many of whom scratched their heads. So what is the soda tax, Joe? "Something about we're taxing soda back there all of a sudden," Maddon said. "My point is that all rules that are created, or laws, aren't necessarily good ones." Whether the Cook County Board now will debate the merits of the so-called "Posey Rule" remains to be seen. But Maddon's reaction provided some great theater for Game 1 and bodes well for another wacky series. Only Maddon would purposely get ejected from a postseason game to make a point on a rule, even as his Cubs mustered only four hits in a game in which Clayton Kershaw was lifted after five innings. The Cubs went into the day a bit haggard from their long journey from Washington but were determined not to make any excuses, especially after Maddon was criticized in May for claiming "sleep deprivation (had) a lot to do" with their mediocre start. Any idea the Cubs would sleepwalk their way through a postseason game were dispelled by the fourth inning. When Albert Almora Jr. blasted a two-run, line-drive home run into the left-field bleachers, the Cubs dugout erupted like a bag of microwave popcorn in a nuclear reactor. Drawing first blood against the great Kershaw was exactly what the sleep doctor ordered. Well before the first celebrity sighting on the video board (former Laker Derek Fisher, if you're keeping score), Cubs President Theo Epstein said the well-publicized plane ride — which lasted four hours longer than expected due to a medical emergency suffered by Jose Quintana's wife, Michel — wasn't going to affect the players' readiness. As soon as they knew Michel Quintana was OK, they treated it like another day in Cubland. "It was one of those things that was unavoidable, and everyone handled it well," Epstein said. "No one was complaining. Everyone was obviously concerned about the medical situation, but once that was clear and we knew everyone would be fine, we were making light of our fate and having a good time.

"Listen, everyone was able to catch up on their sleep today. It wasn't that big of a deal." The only big deal heading into Game 1 was the back injury to Dodgers star Corey Seager, who is sidelined for the series. ... Well, probably. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday he was optimistic Seager would be ready, but that was not the case Saturday. Seager still could be added to the roster if someone else gets injured, or if a player has an "owie" that can be passed off as a real injury. Maddon seemed to believe Seager might be back, perhaps based on the Dodgers' reputation for manipulating the 10-day disabled list. Asked if the Dodgers were practicing any gamesmanship by leaving Seager off the roster after suggesting he'd be ready, Maddon smiled and said: "We'll find out over the next several days." The "gamesmanship" imbroglio actually began earlier when Roberts accused the Cubs of practicing it when he didn't get the lineup soon enough. Maybe Maddon was hiding something? "There's a little gamesmanship going on, I think," Roberts said in his opening salvo. Maddon doesn't answer salvos. He just throws shade. So he went into a long soliloquy about how he writes out his lineup on his iPad Pro with a cup of coffee — even giving an unpaid plug for Apple — before finally saying he was not trying to conceal anything from the Dodgers. "I don't worry about anybody getting more time to divulge anything that we may be able to do," he said. "Because once the game begins, if your players play better than their players, your team wins." After someone pointed out the Cubs released their lineup on Twitter before the Dodgers did, Maddon said something he almost never says, at least in public. "I apologize," he said, "for being so late with the lineup today." Was Maddon's apology sincere, or was he engaging in mind games with his Dodgers counterpart? That's a question for "Ask Amy." But Maddon stole the show with his ejection and postgame manifesto, a surefire way to boost the ratings. -- Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon plays a hunch with decision to start Kyle Schwarber By Paul Skrbina Kyle Schwarber tapped his bat on the outside corner of home plate and dug his left foot into the dirt in the left-handed batter's box Saturday night. Clayton Kershaw was standing 60 feet, 6 inches away. Schwarber took ball one, and his first at-bat against the three-time Cy Young Award winner had begun. The result, a groundout to shallow right field — thanks to a shift — in the top of the second inning was of no significance during the Cubs' 5-2 loss in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. But that Schwarber, the team's left fielder, was standing there at all, facing perhaps the best pitcher of this generation for the first time in his career, was significant.

And another Joe Maddon hunch. The Cubs manager cited Kershaw's numbers against left-handers this season — .248 batting average and .734 OPS versus .203/.570 against righties — as one reason, though that wasn't enough for Maddon to start Gold Glove right fielder Jason Heyward. And Schwarber's glove is far from golden. He found himself with his back against the wall in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Yasiel Puig admired a home run that barely sailed over Schwarber's glove — and into the left-field stands — to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. "I was calling off (center fielder) Jon Jay, 'Hey, man, I got it,'" Schwarber said. "It kept going." Schwarber did throw out Charlie Culberson at the plate when he bounced a throw to Willson Contreras after Justin Turner's single in the bottom of the seventh. But Maddon wound up getting thrown out of the game after the call was overturned when replay officials ruled Contreras had blocked the plate without the ball. "You make the strong point about outfield defense, no question," Maddon said before the game. "Looking at the whole body of work again, lefties have (gotten) to (Kershaw) a little bit this year." But Schwarber batted just .171 against lefties this year, with just three of his 27 home runs coming against them. "He's all about this time of the year," Maddon said. "So I thought it was a good play for tonight. We'll see." Schwarber didn't reward Maddon's hunch, though, going 0-for-3. Was Schwarber surprised? "I prepare every day to be in the lineup," he said. "It just happened to be against Kershaw today." One at-bat, two days earlier against Nationals left-hander Sammy Solis, convinced Maddon that starting Schwarber was the right move. Schwarber had a pinch-hit single with one out in the seventh inning and later scored during that fateful Game 5 of the NL Division Series. "I thought Schwarber's at-bat against Solis was outstanding," Maddon said. Cubs pitcher Jon Lester acknowledged Schwarber's struggles this season but backed his manager's decision. "He's not really a guy I worry about," Lester said. "You look at his season, I'm sure it's not up to par with what he wanted, but we all go through ups and downs. Hopefully for him, (there are) a lot more ups than downs." -- Chicago Tribune NLCS Game 1 turning point: Chris Taylor's home run off Hector Rondon By Chris Kuc The situation: With the game tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, Cubs manager Joe Maddon took starter Jose Quintana out of the game in favor of reliever Hector Rondon. Chris Taylor stepped into the box to lead off for the Dodgers.

What happened next: Rondon, who was left off the division series roster but replaced Justin Wilson for the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, started Taylor off with a fastball for a ball. Rondon's second pitch was a 97-mph four-seam fastball that Taylor jumped on and lined over the wall in right-center to give the Dodgers a 3-2 advantage. The aftermath: The Dodgers rode the momentum and scored two more runs in the seventh on a Yasiel Puig home run and a Justin Turner RBI single. Those runs effectively put the game away as the Cubs were unable to rally in the 5-2 loss. The reaction: "People use that word 'poise' a lot, but (Taylor) has poise. And in big spots, he has the ability to zone in and swing at strikes and take balls. So he has done that all year for us. To get that big homer to right-center really didn't surprise us. (It's) just another thing to add to his special season." — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts -- Chicago Tribune Cubs name Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta as NLCS Games 3-4 starters By Mark Gonzales The Cubs have opted to start Kyle Hendricks for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. Hendricks started Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Thursday and remains on his normal five-day schedule. Hendricks beat Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in the sixth and clinching game of the 2016 NLCS. Jake Arrieta will start Game 4 on Wednesday. Hendricks will oppose Yu Darvish, while Arrieta, who last pitched on Oct. 11 in Game 4 of the NLDS, will oppose left-hander Alex Wood. -- Chicago Tribune NLCS Game 2 starters: Jon Lester vs. Rich Hill By Paul Skrbina Cubs' Jon Lester Jonny be good. That's all Cubs manager Joe Maddon needed to hear from left-hander Jon Lester to start him Sunday night in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. Lester threw 55 pitches Tuesday during the Cubs' 5-0 loss to the Nationals in Game 4 of the NL Division Series. He retired the first 10 he faced in his first relief appearance since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. He allowed one hit and one run during his 32/3-inning outing. "Jonny said he feels great, so Jonny's pitching," Maddon said. "Coming off his (shoulder-soreness) injury, he has gotten progressively better. "This time of the year, these kind of battle-tested guys under these circumstances, they look for these moments." The way Lester sees it, his appearance Tuesday was a normal warmup for his start in Game 2.

"I'm not worried about it," Lester said. "It was kind of just work in between. Just did it it in the game as opposed to on the side. So I don't think it's a problem. This time of year you have to adjust and figure it out." Curtis Granderson, who was acquired in a trade with the Mets this season, has given Lester the most trouble. The outfielder, who grew up in south suburban Lynwood, is hitting .294 with three home runs and a .894 OPS in 51 at-bats against him. Corey Seager, who was not on the roster to start the series thanks to a back injury, had four hits in 11 at-bats. Dodgers' Rich Hill Rich Hill will take the hill for the second time in the postseason against the franchise for which he played the first four seasons of his career, beginning in 2005. And the left-hander intends to play it cool, as usual. When asked whether he went "crazy" when he found out he was pitching against his old team under familiar circumstances, Hill smiled. "No, not yet," he said. Hill drove the Cubs crazy in Game 3 of the NLCS last season. He allowed two hits, two walks and nary a run in six innings. Which has nothing to do with this year, Hill said. "I can't really compare years," he said. "I did that when I was younger. I used to try to, 'OK, I want to have the same year as I did last year or do a little better.' "But you can't do that. As I've gotten older, I realize every opportunity is different. No matter if it's against a similar team, it's still a different circumstance, a different year, a different day." And, the Cubs hope, a different Hill than they saw last October. Getting to Hill early could be key. He had a 6.12 ERA in the first inning during the regular season, his worst in any inning by more than two runs. "These guys are now the defending champs," Hill said. "Last year we wanted to beat the best, and we thought the Cubs were the best. Unfortunately, we didn't get through that round." -- Chicago Tribune Scott Boras makes case for Cubs to re-sign client Jake Arrieta after season By Mark Gonzales Jake Arrieta's season hasn't been as dominant as his previous two, but his agent wasn't squirrelly when assessing his client's resume entering free agency. "You're beyond the one-game evaluation," Scott Boras said Saturday before Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. "(Look at 2015), the Pittsburgh (wild-card) game." "He's a squirrel with a lot of nuts in the tree. He's a big-game squirrel." Boras made a case for the Cubs to re-sign Arrieta, 31, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner who is 68-31 in 41/2 seasons since he was acquired from the Orioles.

"The Cubs' calculus of what they've done is very revealing to me," Boras said. "That is they've traded four or five players to win a championship and try to keep the title as well. And when you do that, you've created more of a 'now' scenario, more of a 'now' window. "And that I think bodes well for having veteran pitching." Boras reiterated Arrieta hasn't ruled out re-signing with the Cubs, although there will be no hometown discount. The Cubs have told Boras and Arrieta they would wait until the time is right to evaluate. "It's not like they've said 'No,' or 'We're not making evaluations,' either," Boras said. Boras emphasized that free agency "looks more of a wise decision for extending your window (of winning)" and allowing younger players from the farm system more time to develop. John Lackey and Arrieta are eligible for free agency after this season. Lackey hasn't said whether he will retire. Stop the clock: Manager Joe Maddon defended the 4 hours, 37 minutes it took for the Cubs to beat the Nationals in Thursday's fifth and deciding game of the NL Division Series. "I thought the pace of the game was extremely interesting," Maddon said. "So if you want to argue against the pace of the game, that game couldn't have been more quickly paced (than) any game you've ever possibly seen. "You can either talk about pace of the game or time of the game. Those are two different issues completely. So time of the game is not amenable to some people. But the pace of the game, if you're a baseball fan, you could not have asked for a better pace outside of fast-pitch softball." Maddon said he was unaware of how long the game took to complete. "That was not boring," Maddon said. "For me, pace and intrigue are synonymous words. And pace and intrigue were involved in that game." -- Chicago Tribune Get ready for some late nights: MLB announces start times for rest of NLCS By Staff If you’re still trying to catch up on sleep from Game 5 of the Cubs-Nationals series, you don’t have much time left. And you had better stock up on coffee. Major League Baseball announced the start times for the entire Cubs-Dodgers National League Championship Series. Be prepared for some late nights. Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Wednesday are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., although Game 4 moves to 7 p.m. if the American League Championship Series between the Astros and Yankees is over. Game 5, if necessary, is set for 7 p.m. Thursday. The NLCS opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday and Game 2 for 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Both games are in Los Angeles before the best-of-seven series moves to Wrigley for three games. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, would be back in LA. The Cubs’ NL Division Series-clinching victory over the Nationals on Thursday ended at 11:45 p.m. At 4 hours, 37 minutes, it was the longest nine-inning postseason game in MLB history. Here’s the complete NLCS schedule:

Best-of-seven; all games on TBS; Games 5-7 if necessary Game 1: at Dodgers, 7 p.m. Saturday Game 2: at Dodgers, 6:30 p.m. Sunday Game 3: at Cubs, 8 p.m. Tuesday Game 4: at Cubs, 8 p.m. Wednesday* Game 5: at Cubs, 7 p.m. Thursday Game 6: at Dodgers, 3 p.m. Oct. 21* Game 7: at Dodgers, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 * Game moves to 7 p.m. if the ALCS is over --