The Chicago Cubs came from behind and withstood multiple rallies to defeat the Washington Nationals to lock in a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. It’s a rematch of the 2016 NLCS that the Cubs won in six games.
First pitch of Game 1 is set for 5:08 p.m. PT on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Game 2 will begin at 4:38 p.m. PT on Sunday, also at Chavez Ravine. The series will shift to Wrigley Field for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday, Oct. 17 and Wednesday, Oct. 18, respectively.
If necessary, the Cubs would host a Game 5 on Thursday. Start times for the remainder of the NLCS have not yet been announced.
The Dodgers are in the NLCS not only a second consecutive year, but for the fifth time in the past decade. The furthest they’ve reached in Game 6, both in 2013 and 2016.
For the Cubs, they’re in the NLCS a third straight season and are looking to repeat as World Series champions behind a strong surge to the postseason in the second half. They endured a bit of an odd situation in NLDS, as Game 4 was rained out and postponed one day.
But in similar fashion to the Arizona Diamondbacks in their NLDS matchup with the Dodgers, the Cubs expended their starting pitching depth to advance. Kyle Hendricks started Game 5, and Jose Quintana threw 12 pitches and recorded two outs in relief.
That came one day after Jake Arrieta started Game 4, followed by Jon Lester throwing 55 pitches over 3.2 innings. The Cubs may be forced to call on John Lackey in Game 1 of the NLCS.
The Dodgers to this point have only named Clayton Kershaw their starter for the opener, and Alex Wood for Game 4. Rich Hill and Yu Darvish will handle Games 2 and 3, but the order has not yet been decided.
Los Angeles went 4-2 against Chicago during the regular season, including a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium, and split their six head-to-head meetings with Washington.
The entire NLCS will be televised exclusively on TBS. Brian Anderson will handle play-by-play duties and he’ll joined by analyst Ron Darling and reporter Sam Ryan.
Complete 2017 NLCS schedule:
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 14, 5:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 15, 4:38 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 17, TBD, at Wrigley Field
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 18, TBD, at Wrigley Field
Game 5*: Thursday, Oct. 19, TBD, at Wrigley Field
Game 6*: Saturday, Oct. 21, TBD, at Dodger Stadium
Game 7*: Sunday, Oct. 22, TBD, at Dodger Stadium
*if necessary
