LOS ANGELES—Rich Hill pitched six scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers smashed the Chicago Cubs 6-0, in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at the iconic Dodgers stadium on Tuesday, October 18. The Dodgers now hold a 2-1 series lead over the Cubs, who have been shutout in consecutive games and have no answers for the Dodgers pitching staff.
Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer on a 3-2 count off of Jake Arrieta in the fourth inning, extending the Dodgers lead to 3-0. Justin Turner’s solo blast was icing on the cake. The Boys in Blue clearly have an edge over these Cubs, who seem to be crumbling under the pressure and expectations of winning The World Series.
What happend to the Chicago Cubs? Their dominating season, in which they won an astounding and MLB best 103 games, means nothing at the moment. The Cubs batters were off balance, nervous and took defensive swings, thanks to lefty Rich Hill. This series is far from over, but with the re-vamped two-three-two format the Dodgers will play the next two games at home. Perhaps more importantly it will guarantee that ace Clayton Kershaw will see the mound two more times. A scary prospect for Cub fans.
Last year, Hill was pitching for the Long Island Ducks in the Independent Atlantic League. The 36-year old pitched a masterpiece—his curve ball fooled Chicago all night. In fact, he has given up one run in his last 23 innings pitched at Chavez Ravine.
The Cubs bats have been silenced, the heart of their lineup went 1 for 11 on Tuesday, and 2 for 32 in the NLCS without an RBI. The Dodgers are now only two games from reaching the World Series, the organization earned their 200th post-season victory with the resounding victory.
Game 4 of the NLCS is Wednesday, October 19 at Dodger stadium. Julio Urias will take the mound for the Dodgers. At 20 years old and 68 days, he will become the youngest starting pitcher in playoff history. Game 4 will air on Fox Sports 1, starting at 5:00 p.m.
