The Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday hand the ball to Clayton Kershaw for the third time in the past six days. They’ll need Kershaw to avoid succumbing to the heavy workload in order to avoid falling behind the Chicago Cubs by two games in the National League Championship Series.
Kershaw’s start in Game 2 marks the first time he’s facing the Cubs this season. However, he started twice against essentially the same Cubs roster last season, going 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 15 innings.
The loss came at Wrigley Field when the three-time Cy Young Award winner permitted three runs on four hits and had nine strikeouts in seven innings.
He allowed two home runs — one apiece to Kris Bryant and Matt Szczur. Anthony Rizzo homered off Kershaw in the start at Dodger Stadium.
It was the lone run Kershaw allowed in eighth innings, finishing the night with 14 strikeouts. The Cubs this season led the Majors with a 103-58 record, due in large part to a prolific offense.
“The Cubs’ lineup is pretty solid, obviously. They got some guys in there that had some pretty amazing seasons, and they’re the best team in baseball for a reason,” Kershaw said Saturday. “I think the one thing that stands out is just the on-base percentages of those guys.
“I think that they’re constantly working counts, getting into good hitters counts, getting on base. And that’s something that is difficult for a starting pitcher. You want to limit the damage but at the same time you can’t go for four innings, a hundred pitches.”
Dexter Fowler’s .393 on-base percentage paced the Cubs this season and was good for 11th overall in the Majors. Ben Zobrist (.386), Bryant (.385) and Rizzo (.385) ranked 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively. Bryant reached base three times in Game 1, Fowler got aboard twice, and Zobrist once.
Chicago’s .343 OBP during the regular season trailed only the Boston Red Sox (.348). The Cubs’ 106 wRC+ was third-best in the Majors.
Their lineup for Game 2 of the NLCS features two left-handed batters (Jason Heyward and Rizzo) and two switch-hitters (Fowler and Zobrist). Kershaw held same-side hitters to a .138/.150/.159 batting line over 141 plate appearances this season, with three doubles, two walks and 52 strikeouts.
