The odds may still be with the Chicago Cubs to advance to their first World Series since 1945, but they are listed as small home underdogs Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 6 of the NLCS at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
That’s what happens when facing a three-time Cy Young Award winner who has turned things around in the postseason and blanked the Cubs for seven innings in a Game 2 victory.
Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.72 ERA in the playoffs) allowed only two hits at Chicago in his most recent start there last Sunday, walking one and striking out six. The Dodgers have won every game in which he has appeared, including a relief appearance resulting in a save in the deciding Game 5 of the NLDS versus the Washington Nationals.
Kershaw (game log) did not face the Cubs during the regular season but was 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA in eight previous starts, as they hit just .218 against him and struck out 68 times in 53.2 innings.
Meanwhile, Chicago will send MLB ERA leader Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.00 ERA in the playoffs) to the mound for the second time in the series, as he also opposed Kershaw in Game 2. Hendricks allowed only an Adrian Gonzalez solo homer in that 1-0 loss along with two other hits over 5.1 innings with four walks and five strikeouts.
Hendricks (game log) was nearly perfect at Wrigley Field during the regular season, going 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 appearances.
The key for the Cubs will obviously be hitting and generating runs, as they have failed to score in their two losses and outscored Los Angeles 26-10 in their three wins. For the Dodgers, they will need to hold Chicago’s bats in check and leave the pressure on their opponent, who has not won a World Series since 1908.
The Cubs won four of the seven regular-season meetings, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, and dropped four of seven the year before. They are hoping it does not come down to a deciding Game 7 on Sunday like it did when they were last in this position back in 2003 and lost.
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