Dodgers Shut Out Cubs Again, 6-0 And Gain 2-1 NLCS Lead

Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner took Jake Arrieta deep, and Rich Hill delivered six scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-0 home victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Dodgers Shut Out Cubs Again, 6-0 And Gain 2-1 NLCS Lead

The Dodgers now lead the NLCS 2-1, and are two wins away from their first World Series appearance since 1988, although Grandal attempted to hold that train of thought.

“You can’t look ahead,” he said. “I mean, these guys won 100-some games. They’ve got the talent, so you can’t think ahead. If you think ahead, that’s when bad things happen.”

With Los Angeles’ starting rotation shorthanded and needing innings from Hill, the former Cubs left-hander struck out six to out-pitch Arrieta. Hill allowed just two hits, a pair of singles to Kris Bryant. 

“It was the biggest game of my career,” said Hill.

The lefty finished the night great despite a strange, 30-pitch second frame that manager Dave Roberts said nearly made him get the bullpen warmed up.

“He’s had some abbreviated starts lately, so I really wanted to have him get an opportunity to work through it,” said Roberts. “And I really didn’t feel comfortable about pulling the plug on him tonight. So I wanted him to kind of work through it, like I said. And fortunately he did.”

Grandal smacked a two-run shot with two out in the fourth, fighting back from 0-2 to hit a 3-2 pitch. The Cuban catcher hit a 93.2-mph fastball and sent it out at 107.8 mph, according to Statcast™, scoring Josh Reddick, who had reached on an infield single and stole second and third.

“The 3-2 to Grandal was a good pitch,” Arrieta said. “I was challenging him in that situation, and it was a ball down and he put a good swing on it. … It was a grind. They just outplayed us on both sides tonight.”

Turner, who tied Grandal’s 27 homers in the regular season, chased Arrieta by leading off the sixth frame with a home run that had an exit velocity of 105 mph and put Los Angeles up 4-0. The Dodgers have homered in all eight of their postseason games, matching the second-longest streak in Los Angeles franchise history.

Arrieta gave up four runs on six hits in five-plus innings with six strikeouts, although the loss had more to do with the Cubs’ weak hitting.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon played around with his lineup, dropping Anthony Rizzo from his usual third spot to cleanup and moving Addison Russell, who has often batted fifth, down to seventh. These moves helped neither batter.

Russell, who struck out and lined out before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, is 1 for 24 in the playoffs.

Other Cubs are not performing particularly better. Jason Heyward, who is 2 for 19, was benched for Jorge Soler, who is 0 for 7. Ben Zobrist is 4 for 26.

“We have to have a better approach at the plate as a team,” catcher Miguel Montero said. “I think we’re trying to do too much. We’re all trying to be heroes here.”

Clayton Kershaw and Hill, now lined up to start Games 6 and 7 in Chicago, if needed, began the back-to-back shutouts– the first in club history in the playoffs.

“I think if we look back to Clayton’s game in Chicago, that’s inspiring for all of us to look at,” said Hill. “We can all do better by going out there and putting forth the best effort that we can every time we go out there. And we watch Clayton go out there and put everything out there on the line, and everybody feeds off of that.”

Rookies combined for the Dodgers’ first run in the third inning, the first of Corey Seager’s three singles cashing in a leadoff single by Andrew Toles. 

“Corey’s a huge piece to what we’re trying to get to. He’s had some struggles recently, but every time he gets in the box, I expect something good to happen,” Roberts said. “But today he got some good pitches against a very good pitcher. That two-out hit was huge to get us on the board.”

Game 4 is set for Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. John Lackey will make his second start of the postseason for the Cubs, while 20-year-old Mexican lefty Julio Urias will start for the Dodgers. Urias will thus become the youngest starting pitcher in MLB postseason history.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 18: Rich Hill #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)