The 2016 NLCS goes to game six and the season of the Dodgers now lie in the hands of ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw at Wrigley Field on Sunday. Kershaw started for the Dodgers in Game 2 and went on to finish giving up two hits, one walk, and six strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. The Cubs struggled to reach base with him on the mound and went on to lose 1-0. He showed tremendous command of his pitches and held his own against a dangerous Cubs' offense.
In game 3, the Cubs went scoreless against Rich Hill while the Dodger's offense went on to score six for the ballgame. But just when it seemed like the Cubs 'offense was fading, they exploded in games four and five, scoring 10 and 8 respectively.
Now that the Cubs are up 3-2, the Dodgers are hopeful that Kershaw can duplicate his performance in Game 2 of the series or even better. The Cubs has the homecourt advantage and it is expected that their fans will be roaring for their team.
When Kershaw gets taken out of the game, it will most likely be up to Kenley Jansen, another member of the Dodgers' strong bullpen to finish off the game. In games three and four. It was Kershaw, Hill, And Jansen that made life miserable for the Cubs' offense. The trio needs to perform at a high level again to have a chance at going to the World Series for the first time in 28 years.
Dodgers ' Manager Dave Roberts is positive that there will be a Game 7. "We've got Clayton in Game 6," said Roberts. "So that's a game we expect to win."
Although Cub's Manager Maddon didn't state that he expects to win Game 6, he is confident that his team has all the right tools to book their ticket to the World Series. "Let's start with Kershaw," said Maddon. "If he's on top of his game, it's going to be another very close, low-scoring game." "You have to pitch better than good pitching to win."
It has been a long time coming for the Cubs too, whose last Word Series appearance was way back in 1945. This will be a rematch of the Game 2 matchup between Kershaw and Kyle Hendricks. Kendricks was also tremendous in Game 2 except for the mistake he made against Adrian Gonzalez who hit a solo home run. If the Dodgers win Game 6, it will be up to Rich Hill to finish the job against for the Dodgers.