The Dodgers got a 3-1 win over the Cubs on Saturday to get their first postseason series win since the ’88 World Series and their first postseason series sweep since 1963.
James Loney drove in two runs with a two-out double in the first, and that was all the Dodgers would need to seal the series. Russell Martin also went 2 for 4 with two doubles and drove in a run in the fifth.
Hiroki Kuroda’s starts this season have been either near perfection or near distasterous, but he came out with near perfection against the Cubs to seal the win. He shut them out for 6 1/3 innings and was lifted in the seventh, walking to the dugout receiving a standing O from his fellow fans. Cory Wade came in and gave up a run in the eighth before Jonathan Broxton got the save with a perfect ninth, striking out the side.
The Dodgers NLCS opponent was a big question mark until the Phillies knocked out the Brewers today. In the regular season, the Dodgers swept the Phillies at home but were swept by them in Philly a week later. The Dodgers have met the Phillies four times in NLCS, but this is the first time it being a seven-game series. The Dodgers will have had a five day rest by the time Game 1 gets underway on Thursday night in Philly, a 5pm start time in LA. Game 2 is in Philly at 1pm PST on Friday before the teams head to LA for a 5pm start time for Game 3 on Sunday.
