Cubs set roster for NLCS vs. Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- The Cubs added right-handed reliever Héctor Rondón to the 25-man roster for the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World and bumped lefty Justin Wilson from the bullpen.
That was the only change as the Cubs begin the best-of-seven NLCS against the Dodgers with Game 1 today at Dodger Stadium.
José Quintana, who started Game 3 of the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile and threw 12 pitches in relief in Game 5 on Thursday, started for the Cubs against Clayton Kershaw today. The Cubs have won each of Quintana's last seven starts dating back to the regular season. Quintana is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in those outings.
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Manager Joe Maddon opted to stay with 11 pitchers in the NLCS and add Rondon to the mix. Wilson has struggled at times since joining the Cubs, and he entered the postseason with a 5.09 ERA in 23 games. He appeared in one game in relief in the NLDS and retired both batters he faced.
Rondon, who was the Cubs' closer in 2015, posted an 8.64 ERA in August, giving up eight earned runs over 8 1/3 innings.
Carl Edwards Jr. was the only Cubs reliever to appear in all five games, and he was roughed up, giving up six earned runs over 2 1/3 innings in the five appearances.
The Cubs kept John Lackey in the bullpen as the long man. In the NLDS, they wanted to make sure they had insurance in case Jake Arrieta was still bothered by his right hamstring. Arrieta went four innings in Game 4 against the Nationals, and he said the leg wasn't an issue.
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Maddon said they discussed keeping Wilson and not Lackey, but the Cubs like having the right-hander for insurance in case one of the starters has a short outing.
"We still like John's ability to pick up extra innings, we still like the maneuverability of [Mike] Montgomery," Maddon said. "The debate was pretty much between Rondon and [Wilson], and even if we wanted to keep both and take a position player off. We chose to do it this way."
The Cubs also like having Rondon on the roster in case closer Wade Davis needs a break because of his extended work in Game 5 of the NL Division Series.
"That was a pretty heavy load," Maddon said. "We had to be protected. Ronnie has pitched at the end of the game significantly well for us in the past. This is not a slight against Justin. We've had a couple guys have a hard time in this last series, but based on experience over the course of the season, we thought this was the best way to go."
The 11 pitchers on the Cubs' NLCS roster include starters Quintana, Arrieta, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, with Rondon, Lackey, Edwards, Pedro Strop, Mike Montgomery, Brian Duensing and closer Davis in the bullpen. Lester will start Game 2.
The list of position players remains the same, and includes Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, Albert Almora Jr., Tommy La Stella, Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Avila, Jason Heyward, Leonys Martin, Jon Jay and Willson Contreras.
PITCHERS (11)
Carl Edwards Jr.
Kyle Hendricks
Brian Duensing
Jon Lester
Mike Montgomery
John Lackey
Pedro Strop
Jake Arrieta
Hector Rondon
Jose Quintana
Wade Davis
CATCHERS (2)
Willson Contreras
Alex Avila
INFIELDERS (7)
Tommy La Stella
Ian Happ
Javier Baez
Kris Bryant
Ben Zobrist
Anthony Rizzo
Addison Russell
OUTFIELDERS (5)
Albert Almora Jr.
Kyle Schwarber
Jason Heyward
Leonys Martin
Jon Jay