The first half of the NLCS bracket is set after the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the 2017 NLDS.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are ready to go deep in the postseason now that they have captured the 2017 National League Division Series title with a dominant three game sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Los Angeles is the only team to finish the NLDS in three games and their reward is some well deserved time off while the rest of the field fills in.
The Dodgers had a strong showing against the Diamondbacks in all three of their meetings. Los Angeles took Game 1 with a score of 9-5. Clayton Kershaw was solid in his outing, despite giving up four solo home runs to the Diamondbacks. Game 2 featured an 8-5 win with Kenta Maeda on the mound, and it was LA’s Yu Darvish who captured Game 3 with a final score of 3-1.
Los Angeles gets a little break for the next few days as the other teams finish the Division Series, which is great news for their pitching staff. Next up for the Dodgers is a meeting against either the Chicago Cubs or the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the NLCS. The Dodgers not only get a chance to rest up before the next round, but they have an opportunity to watch how the Cubs and Nationals manipulate their rotations. Chicago and Washington are both patching up their rotations, though the Nats are no doubt thrilled to have Max Scherzer back in the lineup.
Next: Ranking the 10 best ballparks in Major League Baseball
Game 1 of the National League Championship Series will take place on Saturday, October 14 at time to be determined on TBS. Though we don’t know their competition just yet, it’s safe to say that we will see Clayton Kershaw kicking things off for the Dodgers.