Tale of the Tape: Lester, Maeda in key showdown

LOS ANGELES — With the American League champion Indians awaiting the victor of the National League Championship Series, a pivotal Game 5 will be a rematch of Game 1’s starting pitchers, Jon Lester against Kenta Maeda.

The Cubs got the win the last time these two faced off, pushing Maeda out after four innings, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon surprised Lester by pulling him after six innings of one-run ball. Maddon said after the game that “Jon really wasn’t on top of his game,” so both pitchers will have plenty to improve on in their second go-around.

• Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1

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 CHC @ LAD FS1 Gm 5 Oct. 20 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 *Gm 6 Oct. 22 8 p.m.  LAD @ CHC FS1 *Gm 7 Oct. 23 8 p.m. LAD @ CHC FS1 * If necessary | All times listed ET  • NLCS coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Dodgers

Regular-season statsLester: 19-5, 2.44 ERA, 202 2/3 IP, 197 K, 52 BBMaeda: 16-11, 3.48 ERA, 175 2/3 IP, 179 K, 50 BB

Lester against the DodgersGame 1: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 BB2016: 2 GS, 1-0, 0.60 ERA, 15 IP, 16 K, 2 BBCareer: 5 GS, 2-2, 3.06 ERA, 32 1/3 IP, 34 K, 10 BB

Loves to face: Justin Turner, 0-for-14 (.000), 4 K, 1 BB; Howie Kendrick, 7-for-43 (.163), 4 2B, 8 K; Adrian Gonzalez, 2-for-10 (.200), 4 KHates to face: Andre Ethier, 3-for-5, 1 HR

Why he’ll win:  Lester threw six solid innings against the Dodgers in Game 1 despite not having his best stuff, per Maddon, so a night when he’s on could see even better results. His track record in the postseason certainly suggests he can deliver another strong start, holding a 2.57 ERA in 112 career innings. He also remains left-handed and facing the team that …

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