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Hit the gem? Slumping Cubs look for a lift
- Updated: October 19, 2016
LOS ANGELES — No one ever said it was going to be easy for the Cubs.
Their manager, Joe Maddon, certainly never did.
• NLCS Game 4: Today at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on FS1
After his team banged out four runs in the ninth inning at AT&T Park to finish off the Giants in the National League Division Series, Maddon was asked if that could be a sign of things to come for a lineup that had outscored every NL team except the altitude-aided Rockies.
“I think you should expect the grind,” Maddon said. “The pitching’s so good on both sides. You don’t get to this point without good pitching. It would be difficult for me to imagine we’re just going to go out there and start pummeling the baseball. I just want us to work good at-bats.”
Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 15 CHC 8, LAD 4 Gm 2 Oct. 16 LAD 1, CHC 0 Gm 3 Oct. 18 LAD 6, CHC 0 Gm 4 Oct. 19 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 Gm 5 Oct. 20 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 *Gm 6 Oct. 22 TBD LAD @ CHC FS1 *Gm 7 Oct. 23 TBD LAD @ CHC FS1 * If necessary | All times listed ET • NLCS coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Dodgers
Maddon was spot on. Facing the Dodgers has certainly turned into a grind for the World Series favorites.
Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill was almost as good for his six innings in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series on Tuesday night as Clayton Kershaw was in Game 2, and a rearranged Cubs lineup did no better than the ones preceding it. The Dodgers won, 6-0, and need just one more victory to give Kershaw a chance to put them in the World Series, either on Thursday in Game 5 or on Saturday, when — if, actually — the teams return to Wrigley Field.
Panic in the streets! Panic in the streets! Panic in the streets!
Nah, not really. Just had to get that out of the way.
Another way to look at the underdog Dodgers leading the NLCS, 2-1, is Wow, what a wonderful series this is going to become.
This series looks like a nightmare if you’re watching it in a Chicago sports bar, but it has a chance to become an instant classic.
You think the Dodgers are going to keep dusting off the Cubs? …
