3 reasons Cubs can come back in NLCS
CHICAGO -- Certainly the Cubs, of all teams, understand that a 2-0 series deficit is hardly insurmountable. Joe Maddon's club rallied from a 3-1 hole in the 2016 World Series to beat the Indians, and from a 2-1 deficit in last year's National League Championship Series to topple the Dodgers.•
CHICAGO -- Certainly the Cubs, of all teams, understand that a 2-0 series deficit is hardly insurmountable. Joe Maddon's club rallied from a 3-1 hole in the 2016 World Series to beat the Indians, and from a 2-1 deficit in last year's National League Championship Series to topple the Dodgers.
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But just having been in similar situations before will not be enough. The Cubs must execute flawlessly against a Dodgers club that was favored coming into the NLCS presented by Camping World, and one that has done nothing since that time to dispel the notion that they're the team to beat.
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Consider a comeback difficult but possible. Here are three reasons why the Cubs can make it happen as the series shifts to Chicago:
Their bullpen is rested
Maddon absorbed significant criticism for not using closer
Bullpens may be the most mismatched area of the two rosters in this series. But the Cubs, running on fumes coming into the week, are in far better shape than they once were. In addition to a rested Davis, lefties Mike Montgomery and
"We're not winning any more games without them," Maddon said of Edwards and Montgomery in particular. "You have to keep working at it, keep talking to them. Anything they perceive to be flaws, you have to work on. These are our guys. They got us to this point in the year."
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The Cubs may not be able to match Los Angeles' late-game muscle, but they can feel comfortable leaning more heavily on their own trusted relievers this week in Chicago.
The offense almost has to improve
It seems unfathomable that the Cubs' offense, which led the NL in on-base percentage during the regular season, would go 0-for-24 with nine strikeouts through two games against the Dodgers' bullpen. Cubs slugger
"It's contagious," Rizzo said, "so you've just got to keep grinding."
It's worth noting that the reigning NL MVP,
Sabermetricians do not consider clutch performances predictive of future opportunities. If there's ever a time for Bryant to put to rest his struggles in pressure situations, it's now.
The pitching matchups are skewing more in their favor
Heading into the NLCS, the Cubs were a weary team. They started
Now Hendricks and Arrieta are ready to show why they've been two of the NL's best starting pitchers multiple years in a row. While the Dodgers are about to dip into the (admittedly still formidable) middle of their rotation in Games 3 and 4, the Cubs will counter with their twin aces. If Hendricks and Arrieta can pitch deeper into games than Quintana and Lester did, the Cubs should also be able to neutralize some of Los Angeles' bullpen advantage.
Anthony DiComo has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2008. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo and Facebook.