The Cubs took a giant leap forward in their journey to the franchise's first World Series appearance since 1945.
With bold baserunning and timely late-inning hitting, the Cubs topped the Dodgers 8-4 on Saturday at Wrigley Field to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
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While there is plenty of time left in the series, Chicago's win does go a long way, historically speaking. Since the NLCS went to seven games 30 years ago, the team that has won Game 1 has a 21-9 (.700) series record.
Three takeaways from Chicago's win.
1. Dave Roberts' gambles don't pay off this time. In Game 5 of the NLDS against the Nationals, LA's manager made bold moves, bringing in his closer, Kenley Jansen, in the seventh inning and Clayton Kershaw for the save. On Saturday, his moves failed to work in his favor; Roberts decided to intentionally walk Jayson Heyward and Chris Coghlan to load the bases in the eighth inning of a tied game to force the Cubs to pinch-hit for closer Aroldis Chapman. The result? A grand slam by pinch hitter Miguel Montero.
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2. Kenta Maeda struggled again. The rookie right-hander allowed four runs over three innings in a Game 3 loss against the Nationals in the NLDS and didn't fare much better Saturday. Maeda lasted just four innings, allowing three runs on four hits as he suffered his fourth consecutive bad outing dating to Sept. 27. Over that time, Maeda owns a 9.88 ERA. The Dodgers bullpen did a great job keeping them in the game for 3 2/3 innings, and LA's bats finally came to life in the top of the eighth with two runs to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Chicago responded with five runs with two outs in the bottom half.
3. Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell continue to disappoint in the postseason. The Cubs' 3 through 6 hitters entered with a .103 average and 13 strikeouts, but Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward did show some life in Game 1 with a double and a triple, respectively. Rizzo and Russell continue to be unproductive. After going hitless Saturday, the duo is a combined 2 for 39 this postseason with zero RBIs. Luckily for the Cubs, others have found a way to pick up the slack.
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Highlight
Montero gave the Cubs a 7-3 lead with a grand slam to right field off Joe Blanton.
What's next
Game 2: Dodgers at Cubs, 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Fox Sports 1 — After converting a save in Game 5 of the NLDS, Kershaw (12-4, 1.69 ERA) takes the mound looking to end his postseason struggles as a starter. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is 3-6 with a 4.79 ERA in 16 playoff games (12 starts). Toeing the rubber for the Cubs will be Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13 ERA), who was 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 home games this year.