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Cubs-Dodgers: NLCS rosters, lineups, matchup notes

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

A look at the best-of-seven National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, which begins Saturday night at Wrigley Field.

How to watch

When: Oct. 15 at 8:08 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, Sportsnet
Streaming: MLB.com

Schedule

GM DATE TIME (ET) AWAY HOME
1 Oct. 15 8:08 p.m. Dodgers Cubs
2 Oct. 16 8:08 p.m. Dodgers Cubs
3 Oct. 18 8:08 p.m. Cubs Dodgers
4 Oct. 19 8:08 p.m. Cubs Dodgers
5* Oct. 20 8:08 p.m. Cubs Dodgers
6* Oct. 22 TBD Dodgers Cubs
7* Oct. 23 TBD Dodgers Cubs

RelatedPosition-by-position breakdown of Cubs-Dodgers

Lineups

Dodgers

ORDER PLAYER POSITION
1 Howie Kendrick LF
2 Justin Turner 3B
3 Corey Seager SS
4 Yasiel Puig RF
5 Adrian Gonzalez 1B
6 Carlos Ruiz C
7 Enrique Hernandez 2B
8 Joc Pederson CF
9 Kenta Maeda P

Cubs

ORDER PLAYER POSITION
1 Dexter Fowler CF
2 Kris Bryant 3B
3 Anthony Rizzo 1B
4 Ben Zobrist LF
5 Addison Russell SS
6 Jason Heyward RF
7 Javy Baez 2B
8 David Ross C
9 Jon Lester P

Probable starters

Dodgers:
RH Kenta Maeda (16-11, 3.48 ERA)
LH Clayton Kershaw (12-4, 1.69)
LH Rich Hill (3-2, 1.83)
LH Julio Urias (5-2, 3.39)

Cubs:
LH Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44, 197 Ks)
RH Kyle Hendricks (16-8, MLB-best 2.13)
RH Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10)
RH John Lackey (11-8, 3.35).

Full NLCS rosters for Cubs-Dodgers.

Relievers:

Dodgers:
RH Kenley Jansen (3-2, 1.83, 47/53 saves)
RH Pedro Baez (3-2, 3.04)
RH Joe Blanton (7-2, 2.48)
LH Luis Avilan (3-0, 3.20)
RH Ross Stripling (5-9, 3.96)
LH Grant Dayton (0-1, 2.05)
RH Josh Fields (1-0, 4.63)

Cubs:
LH Aroldis Chapman (4-1, 1.55, 36/39 saves)
RH Hector Rondon (2-3, 3.53, 18/23 saves)
RH Pedro Strop (2-2, 2.85)
RH Carl Edwards Jr. (0-1, 3.75)
RH Justin Grimm (2-1, 4.10)
LH Mike Montgomery (4-5, 2.52)
LH Travis Wood (4-0, 2.95)

Matchups

Season Series: Cubs won 4-3.

One of these big-market teams is going to end a substantial drought. While the Cubs are looking for their first pennant since 1945 and World Series title since 1908, the Dodgers haven't been to the Fall Classic since winning their 1988 championship.

Chicago took three of four from Dodgers in a low-scoring series at Wrigley from May 30 to June 2, getting wins from Lester and Hendricks. Los Angeles won two of three meetings at home in late August, dropping the opener 6-4 in 10 innings before winning the final two games 3-2 and 1-0. ... Cubs avoided Kershaw and Maeda during the regular season. They also never faced Hill, who was acquired from Oakland on Aug. 1.

Cubs wanted to make sure Hendricks was healthy before committing to him in Game 2. Hendricks left Game 2 of the Division Series against San Francisco when a comebacker went off his right forearm in the fourth inning. He had a bullpen session Thursday. Hendricks was 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 home games this year.

Dodgers went 53-28 at home and 38-43 on the road this season. But they won two of three games at Washington in Division Series, including Game 5 clincher. Kershaw came out of bullpen to get final two outs for his first major league save, two days after throwing 110 pitches in Game 4 on short rest. So he almost surely won't start until Game 2 or Game 3 against Cubs.

A tiring Jansen was pushed to career-high 51 pitches in Game 5, so his availability - and effectiveness - will be a question mark early in NLCS. ... Dodgers have struggled against left-handed pitching all year and figure to face Lester twice if series goes five games.

Big Picture:

Dodgers: With a $234 million opening day payroll, highest in the majors, Los Angeles (91-71) reached the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in Dave Roberts' first season as manager. The Dodgers have won four straight NL West titles, a first for the storied franchise, and surpassed 90 wins for the fourth season in a row. But they are still looking for their first trip to the World Series since Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser & Co. won it all as big underdogs in 1988.

Los Angeles was beaten in the NLCS three times from 2008-13, then lost in the NLDS each of the past two years. They just squeezed by Washington, though, with a trio of one-run wins. ... Roberts and Tom Lasorda (1977) are the only rookie managers to lead the club to a division title. ... Gonzalez had 90 RBIs for the 10th consecutive season, becoming the only major leaguer to do so. ... Grandal, Seager, Justin Turner and Pederson gave the Dodgers four players with 25 or more home runs for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1997. ... Roberts used a franchise record-tying 55 players, including 31 pitchers. ... Seager's 193 hits were the most by a big league rookie since 2001. ... Dodgers pitchers recorded 1,510 strikeouts, a major league record.

Cubs: Is this the year the Cubs at long last win the World Series? Favorites since opening day, Chicago (103-58) entered the playoffs with a large, excited fan base hoping against hope that the first championship in more than a century was finally around the corner. The Cubs jumped out to a 25-6 start on the way to a runaway title in the NL Central, then knocked off San Francisco in a thrilling NLDS. They rallied for four runs in the ninth inning of Game 4 to eliminate the pesky Giants and secure their second straight trip to the NLCS - a first for the franchise. Swept by the New York Mets last season, they're hoping for a better result this time.

Bryant, a favorite for NL MVP after winning Rookie of the Year last season, was 6 for 16 with a homer against the Giants. During the regular season, he joined Rogers Hornsby (1929), Hack Wilson (1930) and Derrek Lee (2005) as the only players in franchise history with at least 120 runs, 35 doubles, 39 homers and 100 RBIs. ... Hendricks and Lester became the first teammates to run 1-2 in the majors in ERA since Houston pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in 2005. Both figure to get strong consideration for the NL Cy Young Award, which Arrieta won last year. ... Lester matched his career high for wins. ... Cubs pitchers led the majors with a 3.15 ERA. They gave up the fewest runs (556) and hits (1,125).

Watch For

The Target. Well aware of the club's 108-year championship drought, the Cubs showed up for spring training bolstered by the additions of Heyward, Zobrist and Lackey, and with a neat new slogan coined by Maddon: ''Embrace the Target.'' The phrase went on a T-shirt, and the Cubs could not have worn it any better during the regular season. They won the division by 17 1/2 games and finished with eight more wins than any other team. They had the depth and versatility to withstand injuries and the poise to pull out 14 wins in their final at-bat. Then they added two more in the NLDS against playoff-tested San Francisco. But the Cubs are still chasing that target, and the postseason pressure remains.

Ace In The Hole. As sensational as Kershaw has been throughout his career, he's struggled in the postseason. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP is 3-6 with a 4.79 ERA in 16 playoff games, 12 starts, over eight series since 2008. Kershaw again was far from his best in two NLDS starts against Washington, but he won the opener and saved the finale. Maybe coming through in that signature moment will finally get him going in October - if he's not worn out. The left-hander missed more than two months with a back injury before returning in September. While he was sidelined, the Dodgers surged into first place past slumping San Francisco.

Top That. Lester will have a hard time even approaching his performance in the playoff opener, when he went toe-to-toe with Cueto in a 1-0 win. Lester dominated over eight innings and retired his final 13 batters. He held the Dodgers to one run in 15 innings over two starts this season. The lefty tossed a four-hitter in a June 1 win and went six scoreless innings but did not get a decision on Aug. 28.

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