With a victory tonight over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be headed back to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Los Angeles will send southpaw Clayton Kershaw to the rubber and he will be opposed by another lefty, Chicago’s José Quintana. Kershaw, who was 18-4, with an ERA of 2.31 in the regular season, started Game 1 of the NLCS yielding 2 runs over 5 innings of work. Quintana, who faced Kershaw in the series opener, was 11-11, with an ERA of 4.15 in the regular season, and in Game 1, he also gave up 2 runs over 5 innings of work. Chicago’s ace closer, Wade Davis, tossed 48 pitches in relief last night for the Cubs and will not be available in Game 5 – and that is not good. Should Kershaw get in trouble, a well-rested Kenley Jansen will be ready. The Dodgers bullpen has been outstanding, pitching 20 consecutive scoreless innings and giving up just 3 hits in the series. Los Angeles is 6-1 in their last 7 meetings with Chicago and 6-1 in their last 7 playoff games. Dodgers move on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS