The Los Angeles Dodgers close out their 10-game homestand with a blockbuster series finale against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Ace Clayton Kershaw takes the mound, facing off against another elite southpaw in Jon Lester.
Kershaw is coming off a dominant start against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was in line for a complete game shutout before a wild pitch allowed a runner to score from second base, and the game eventually went into extra innings.
In nine innings pitched, Kershaw gave up just one run on three hits, while striking out 10 without issuing a walk. After the outing, Kershaw credited his effort to his best curveball in recent memory.
This season he’s 7-2, with a 2.01 ERA, 2.61 FIP and 201 ERA+ and 0.82 WHIP. Kershaw is facing the Cubs for the first time in 2017. The 29-year-old last saw them during the regular season in 2015.
Kershaw is 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in eight career starts against Chicago. He’s 10 strikeouts away from reaching 2,000 in his career.
Lester is coming off a complete game in his last start. He limited the San Francisco Giants to one run on four hits. Lester faced the Dodgers last month at Wrigley Field, allowing just one run over six innings.
Lester is 2-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in eight career starts against the Dodgers. Last season, he held them to just one run (via a homer) over 15.1 innings pitched.
The veteran left-hander enters 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 131 ERA+ and 1.26 WHIP. However, Lester is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in four road starts this season. He’s allowed six runs on 14 hits in 19.1 career innings at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers’ roster hasn’t had much success against Lester, with Franklin Gutierrez going 5-for-23, with a home run and three RBIs. Chris Taylor is also 1-for-4, with his lone hit a double. One aspect to keep an eye on is whether the Dodgers will attempt to run on Lester.
Although he largely refuses to throw over to first base, Kiké Hernandez explained Lester has other means in holding a baserunner.
With a win on Sunday, the Dodgers will complete a three-game sweep of the Cubs and finish 8-2 on their homestand.
Dodgers lineup:
3B: Logan Forsythe
SS: Corey Seager
CF: Chris Taylor
LF: Franklin Gutierrez
2B: Kiké Hernandez
C: Austin Barnes
1B: Cody Bellinger
RF: Brett Eibner
P: Clayton Kershaw
Cubs lineup:
2B: Javier Baez
3B: Kris Bryant
1B: Anthony Rizzo
LF: Ian Happ
RF: Jason Heyward
C: Willson Contreras
SS: Addison Russell
CF: Albert Almora Jr.
P: Jon Lester
