After outlasting the Washington Nationals in a down-to-the-wire, five game National League Division Series (NLDS), the Los Angeles Dodgers will have a quick turnaround, taking on the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the Championship Series (NLCS) on Saturday, October 15th.
Still the favorites to win the World Series, the Cubs are holding out hope that they can break the hundred-plus-year curse and win the Commissioner’s Trophy.
The Cubs also had a far straighter (and shorter) path to the NLCS than the Dodgers. Chicago entered the Division Series as the number one seeds and beat Wild Cards the San Francisco Giants handily in a 3-1 series.
What’s more, not only will L.A. only have one day to rest before heading to Chicago—where the Cubs will have a home field advantage— the Dodgers will be at a distinct disadvantage having used their best players to finally knock out the Nats Thursday night.
Not only did Washington have a home-field advantage for the tied up NLDS Game 5, they started Cy Young Award (for best National League pitcher) favorite Max Scherzer on the mound.
The Nats were ahead for most of Thursday night’s game, leading 1-0 through the sixth. Washington then went on to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, after the Dodgers finally earned four runs in the top to take the lead.
The Dodgers’ saving grace was manager Dave Roberts’ decision to put pitchers Kenley Jansen and all-star Clayton Kershaw—with only one day’s rest—in at the end of the game. Jansen and Kershaw were able to hold of the Nats, leading to a 4-3 win for L.A. and a ticket to the National League Championship Series.
While putting forth their star players was likely the decision that made it possible for L.A. to advance to the NLCS at all, it may come back and bite them in Game 1 of the NLCS.
Tune in Thursday night to see the first game of the 2016 National League Division Series and to find out if the Cubs can keep up their winning streak to make it to the 2016 World Series.
How to Watch the National League Championship Series 2016:
The first National League Championship Game will take place on Saturday, October 15th, at 8:00 p.m. ET in Chicago, Illinois.
In order to watch the games online, fans can use the Fox Sports GO website (or app for mobile viewing), but access requires a valid login through a cable provider. Games are also available for streaming on TBS Sports and you can find even more ways to watch without a cable login from Cut Cable Today.
You can also find the full postseason schedule, along with the latest baseball news at MLB.com.
The first game of the 2016 World Series is set for October 25th.
NLCS Schedule
Game 1: 8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 15
Game 2: 8:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, October 16
Game 3: 8:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, October 18
Game 4: 8:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, October 19
Game 5*: 8:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, October 20
Game 6*: TBD, Saturday, October 22
Game 7*: TBD, Sunday, October 23
* if necessary