Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
The Dodgers' Yu Darvish needed just seven pitches to get through the six and is at 76 for the game. There is a pronounced nervous energy at Wrigley Field right now.
Now
David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer
In a somewhat curious decision given how well his bullpen has pitched, Dave Roberts does not bat for Yu Darvish with the bases loaded and a chance to blow the game wide open. So of course Darvish draws a four-pitch walk because that's the kind of postseason it's been so far for Roberts: Every decision turns to gold.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
Interesting decision from Dave Roberts in the sixth. He had Curtis Granderson in the on-deck circle, but pulled him back to let Yu Darvish hit for himself with the bases loaded and two out ... and Carl Edwards Jr. walked Darvish, adding to L.A.'s lead. It's been that kind of postseason for the Dodgers (and Edwards) so far.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Wow. A gift run for the Dodgers to push the lead to 4-1. Yu Darvish, who wasn't going to swing had the Cubs' Carl Edwards walked up to the plate and placed the ball on a tee, walks him on four pitches to force in a run.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Now, likely spurred on by my Old Hoss Radbourn reference, Dave Roberts has Tony Watson throwing in the Dodgers' bullpen. Anthony Rizzo is leading off the sixth for the Cubs.
Carlos Nava Columnist, ESPN Deportes
Terminó la labor del abridor de los Cubs Kyle Hendricks, después de cinco entradas, en las que recibió seis hits, tres carreras, dio un pasaporte y ponchó a cinco. Deja de herencia a Yasiel Puig en segunda y Andre Ethier en primera, con el partido 3-1 a favor de los Dodgers. En su relevo entró Carl Edwards Jr.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Yu Darvish has thrown just 69 pitches through five innings and apparently no one is warming up in the Dodgers' bullpen. Tough to say because the bullpens are behind the wall at Wrigley Field, but the scoreboard lists only the Cubs' Carl Edwards as throwing at the moment. Anyway, if Darvish comes out for the sixth, in a 2017 Dodgers playoff context, that kind of puts him in the same class as Old Hoss Radbourn.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
What started as a promising night for the Cubs' offense has been followed by a string of zeroes against Yu Darvish in NLCS Game 3 -- something Chicago couldn't afford to have happen with Los Angeles' lights-out bullpen looming.
David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer
Yu Darvish is facing the lineup for the third time, although his splits were a little strange this season. First: .554 OPS allowed; second: .799 (!); third: .691. Dave Roberts had a quick hook in his NLDS start and with a 3-1 lead may not hesitate to go to the bullpen here if Darvish surrenders a couple baserunners.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Per ESPN Stats & Info: Chris Taylor of the Dodgers hit a Game 1 homer as a center fielder. His mammoth shot tonight came as a shortstop. He's the first player in postseason history to homer at those two positions in the same playoff season.
Marly Rivera ESPN Writer
Here's what Hanley RamÃrez said to ESPN after his shoulder surgery: "I'm doing great; it was just a little thing, a bit of a cleanup to have a better swing. It was just a small thing and I'll be ready for spring training."
Matt Marrone ESPN.com
How did it feel to score the go-ahead run on Gary Sanchez's eighth-inning double in Game 4 of the ALCS? "It's tough to describe, to be honest," Yankees rookie Aaron Judge said. "That ballpark is alive. It was unbelievable. That stadium was rocking. The fans were going crazy. I didn't know what to do after I touched home plate. I can't describe it. That's why we play this game, for a moment like that."
David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer
One good sign for the Cubs: They had a chase rate of 40 percent on pitches outside the strike zone through their first seven postseason games, including 43 percent in Game 2, but are at 22 percent through three innings. On the other hand, Yu Darvish is throwing strikes with 32 out of 45 pitches strikes and no walks so far. Remember, the Dodgers bullpen has been hot with eight hitless innings in the series. The Cubs may need to get to Darvish in the next couple of innings.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
The go-ahead home run Chris Taylor hit off Kyle Hendricks tonight is the longest tracked by Statcast this postseason. Not bad for a guy who had zero home runs in 233 career at-bats with the Mariners before being acquired by the Dodgers in June of 2016.
David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer
Another great defensive play at first base by Cody Bellinger. Dave Roberts called him a future Gold Glove winner the other day and he definitely has the hands and range to do that. But he can also play the outfield and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up there next season, with the Dodgers bringing in a big-bat first baseman.
Matt Marrone ESPN.com
Lefty CC Sabathia was part of New York's championship run in 2009, the year the new Yankee Stadium opened. But he hasn't heard this much buzz at the ballpark in the Bronx since the team played across the street."This is the loudest I've ever heard it. I said that earlier in the playoffs. That wild-card game and the two games against the Indians. It feels like the old stadium," Sabathia said after the Yankees beat the Astros in Game 4 of the ALCS. "It's intimidating to come here and play. And when the crowd is like it is and has been, it makes a big difference."
Jesse Rogers ESPN Staff Writer
Kyle Hendricks has allowed multiple home runs in consecutive starts for the first time in his career. He's given up 2 already tonight after giving up 2 in Game 5 of the NLDS.
David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer
From Sarah Langs of ESPN Stats & Info: Kyle Hendricks has now allowed multiple home runs in consecutive playoff games. That had never happened to him in the regular season in his career.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Chris Taylor does it again, putting the Dodgers ahead in the third. He got ahead of Kyle Hendricks 3-1 then unloaded on a sinker in the middle-middle part of the plate, putting it over the batter's eye in center field. Statcast had it at 444 feet. The pressure is mounting on the Cubs to do some damage against Yu Darvish before this game goes to the bullpens.
Matt Marrone ESPN.com
The Yankees didn't take the lead in Game 4 of the ALCS until the eighth inning, but Aaron Judge's solo home run in the seventh sure helped shift the momentum. Said starter Sonny Gray after the game: "When he steps up there in the seventh and hits a homer, that's when everyone's wheels start turning, like, 'OK, let's go. We've broken the ice. Now it's time to put some good at-bats together and do whatever we can to get this game.'"
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
Then, after Yu Darvish keeps the Cubs to that one run, on the second pitch of the second, L.A. ties on an Andre Ethier blast off the scoreboard above the right-field fence. That's the fifth career postseason homer for the dean of the Dodgers.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
The ball was jumping out of the park in batting practice and continues to do so early in Game 3. Soon after Kyle Schwarber gave the Wrigley Field crowd something to cheer about with a home run, Andre Either quieted them with a solo blast of his own.
Bradford Doolittle ESPN Staff Writer
It was an eventful first inning for Dodgers starter Yu Darvish. He allowed a run on a Kyle Schwarber bomb off a first-pitch cutter and two other hits, but he escapes the frame with one run on the board. The other day, Dave Roberts said that Darvish has "a lot of toys" and he's broken most of them out early, mixing in five different pitches during his 15 first-inning offerings, per Statcast.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
The Cubs had one run and three hits in the first inning of NLCS Game 3, which is as many runs and hits as they had in their past 14 innings this series.
Dan Mullen ESPN.com
With one swing of the bat, Kyle Schwarber has turned a Cubs crowd wondering if the offense would ever come alive to one making a lot of noise. It's loud at Wrigley Field with the Cubs jumping out to an early lead over Yu Darvish and the Dodgers on Schwarber's first-inning blast to left-center.