With front offices and philosophies that mirror one another, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers have risen as the cream of the crop in the National League.
The Cubs eliminated the Dodgers in the 2016 NL Championship Series to win the pennant and they went on to claim their first World Series since 1908. The Dodgers returned the favor in the NLCS last October but came up short in ending their World Series drought that now is on 30 years.
This week’s three-game series marked the Dodgers’ first visit to Wrigley Field since they won Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS in thrilling fashion. Seeing the two powerhouses on the field was delayed by a day because of inclement weather, setting the table for them to play three games in essentially 24 hours.
The Dodgers rallied in the ninth to steal the first game of the doubleheader, dropped the nightcap, and were shutout Wednesday. The series loss was their first since the Miami Marlins took two of three from May 15-17.
Despite his club losing their first series in the last 10 opportunities, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was encouraged by the three games against the Cubs, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“It was a fun series. Two good clubs, very evenly matched. The series could have gone either way. You’re not going to win every series, but going into New York, we feel pretty good about ourselves.”
Chicago and Los Angeles will quickly get reacquainted with each other as they begin a four-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday. The Dodgers won four of six regular-season meetings in 2017, including sweeping a three-game set at home.
The building of a budding rivalry was accelerated during this past offseason when Yu Darvish and Brandon Morrow each signed with the Cubs. After inking his deal, Darvish told Roberts his main goal this season was to beat the Dodgers.
Prior to that, co-owner Todd Ricketts referred to the Dodgers as the Cubs’ nemesis.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.
