With a 6-0 win in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series on Tuesday in Los Angeles, the Dodgers are two wins away from sending the Cubs home without a World Series title for the 108th consecutive year.
Behind six dominant innings from Rich Hill and three innings of relief from Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton and Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers held the Cubs to four hits, handing Chicago back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2014.
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Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner went deep for the Dodgers while NL Rookie of the Year favorite Corey Seager put LA on the board with an RBI single in the third. Joc Pederson was responsible for two insurance runs in the eighth with an RBI double and a run scored.
Here are three takeaways from Los Angeles' win:
1. The Cubs shake up the lineup to no avail. Manager Joe Maddon benched $184 million man Jason Heyward with the left-handed Hill on the mound, opting for Jorge Soler in right field. Miguel Montero was in the lineup at catcher and Javy Baez was moved up to No. 5 in the order. Maddon hoped the moves would jump-start the stagnant Cubs' bats, but it did nothing except push the club into a deeper slump.
Soler and Montero went hitless while Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell continued their dismal work at the plate with one hit combined Tuesday. The trio, which combined for 280 RBIs in the regular season, is now a collective 7 for 76 (.092) this postseason. Heyward, who pinch-hit for Russell in the seventh, is 2 for 19 in the playoffs.
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2. Jake Arrieta's late-season anomalies catch up with him. Although he is the reigning NL Cy Young winner, Arrieta did have a number of missteps late in the regular season.
Over his final eight regular-season starts, the right-hander owned a 4.74 ERA with a dismal 41:24 K:BB ratio that included a seven-walk outing against the Brewers at Wrigley Field. Opponents had 23 stolen bases in 26 attempts against Arrieta in regular season and the Dodgers' Josh Reddick stole two against him in the fourth inning Tuesday before scoring on Grandal's home run.
3. Hollywood's bright lights don't affect Hill. Since being traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, Hill has been dominant at Dodger Stadium for the NL West champions. The 36-year-old journeyman missed time with a recurring blister issue but has now hurled 23 innings of one-run ball (0.39 ERA) in Los Angeles with 24 strikeouts.
Hill did walk two in the second inning, when he appeared flustered after Rizzo stole second and moved to third on a passed ball with one out, but the southpaw was able to strike out the slumping Russell and get Montero to ground out to end the inning.
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Highlight
Grandal's first career postseason homer puts the Dodgers ahead 3-0 in the fourth inning.
What's next
Game 4: Cubs at Dodgers, 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, Fox Sports 1 — The Cubs will face another southpaw when rookie Julio Urias (5-2, 3.39 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers. Urias, who will become the youngest starting pitcher (20 years, 68 days) in MLB postseason history, owns a 1.90 ERA since the All-Star break. John Lackey (11-8, 3.35 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Cubs. The veteran right-hander will looks to improve from his last start, which lasted four innings (three runs allowed) in the Cubs' NLDS Game 4 win over the Giants.