Dodgers getting 1-0 lead in NLCS makes all the difference

Game 1 of the 2017 NLCS went to the Dodgers, and it was the one chip they needed to fall into their lap to help get to the World Series.

Not having Corey Seager for the entirety of the NLCS is going to be a blow for the Dodgers. Of course, there’s always room for optimism, as the team has shown in the past that it can handle moments of adversity.

Instead of making room for excuses, the Los Angeles Dodgers pushed through to get a much-needed win to get them three away from a World Series berth. Chicago gave them trouble last year en route to their first World Series win in over a century, so now that the Dodgers have the better team on paper the hope for LA is that they can win their first in nearly three decades.

Clayton Kershaw didn’t have a dominant start, to say the least, but thankfully the relief pitching came in to seal the deal. Kershaw threw for five innings giving up four hits, two runs, a home run, and one walk. He also struck out four, but the Dodgers took him out of the game to risk things escalating.

Kenta Maeda got the win while Kenley Jansen was credited with the save — not an unusual sight for Dodgers fans. However, Game 1 of the NLCS was more about a base-running rule that Cubs manager Joe Maddon is no fan of going the way of the Dodgers to give them a three-run lead late in the game.

Already up 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, a hit by Justin Turner gave Charlie Culberson a chance to run home. According to the rule in question, the runner was called safe because of the fact that Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras was illegally blocking the home plate.

Los Angeles would not look back, as they were able to hold off the Cubs in Chicago’s last two at-bats to officially take the lead in the series. Game 2 is on Sunday night, and if LA is able to go up 2-0 heading back to Wrigley Field, the Dodgers will have done all they can do at this point.

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And really, that’s all anyone rooting for this team is hoping for.