DYK? Facts and figures from NLCS Game 2
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Clayton Kershaw put any remaining whispers about futility in the postseason to bed on Sunday night, shutting down a potent lineup over seven innings -- on short rest, no less -- to carry the Dodgers to a tense, 1-0 victory over Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, evening the best-of-seven showdown at a game apiece.
A memorable postseason continued with another classic at Wrigley Field, highlighted by an all-time performance by Kershaw and a six-out save by closer Kenley Jansen. As these two teams head to Dodger Stadium to resume the series on Tuesday night, here's a look at the facts and figures you should know about Los Angeles' series-tying victory:
:: NLCS: Dodgers vs. Cubs coverage ::
• NLCS Game 3: Tuesday night at 8 ET on FS1
• Kershaw, who has started four of the Dodgers' seven games in the postseason, and Jansen, who has come on in relief in five of them, have combined to record 44 percent of Los Angeles' outs.
• The Dodgers' victory marked only the sixth time a visiting team has won an NLCS game 1-0. The last was in 1999, when the Braves beat the Mets, 1-0, in Game 3 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium.
The last time the Dodgers won a postseason game 1-0 was Game 3 of the 1963 World Series -- a shutout of the Yankees by Hall of Famer Don Drysdale. Los Angeles swept that Fall Classic for their third championship.
• The Dodgers and Cubs combined for only five hits on Sunday, tying four other games for the second-fewest in the postseason -- the last being Roy Halladay's no-hitter for the Phillies against the Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NL Division Series.
Only two postseason contests have featured fewer hits: Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS between the Cardinals and Astros and Game 4 of 2013 NLDS between the Cardinals and Pirates both saw only four combined hits between the two participating clubs.
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• Kershaw became the first visiting pitcher to record a scoreless start at Wrigley Field in the postseason. The only other pitcher to post a scoreless start on the road against the Cubs in October was the Red Sox's Babe Ruth in Game 1 of the 1918 World Series, however the Cubs played their home games in that Series at Comiskey Park, which had a larger seating capacity than Wrigley. That was also the last time the Cubs were shut out at home in the postseason -- and the only game they have lost 1-0. Chicago lost the 1918 World Series in six games.
Only four pitchers have turned in a scoreless start at Wrigley in the postseason since the park began hosting Major League games in 1916: the Cubs' Lon Warneke in Game 5 of the 1935 World Series against Detroit, the Cubs' Rick Sutcliffe in Game 1 of the 1984 NLCS against San Diego, the Cubs' Jon Lester against the Giants in Game 1 of this year's NLDS and Kershaw.
• Kershaw became only the 18th starting pitcher in postseason history to toss at least six scoreless innings on two or fewer days' rest -- and the first pitcher to do so in 28 years. The last two who accomplished the feat were also Dodgers: Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the 1988 NLCS and Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. The Dodgers won World Series titles in both '88 and '65.
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• Kershaw had a perfect game going until Javier Báez lined a two-out single in the fifth inning. The left-hander's quest for the third postseason no-hitter in history (following Don Larsen and Halladay) ended at 4 2/3 innings, tying Koufax in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series and Jerry Reuss in Game 2 of the 1981 NLDS for the longest no-hit bid by a Dodgers pitcher in the postseason.
• Kershaw is the only Dodgers starter who has recorded an out in the seventh inning this postseason, having done so twice. The rest of Los Angeles' starting rotation has averaged 3 1/3 innings per start this postseason.
• Sunday's matchup of Kershaw (1.69 ERA) and Hendricks (2.13 ERA) featured the NL's lowest ERAs this year among starters with at least 140 innings pitched. The last postseason game to feature a league's top two starters in ERA was Game 4 of the 1968 World Series, according to YES Network researcher James Smyth. That game was started by Detroit's Denny McLain and St. Louis' Bob Gibson, who also faced each other in Game 1 that year.
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• Hendricks was not as sharp as he had been this season at Wrigley, but he still only allowed one run. The last Cubs pitcher to take a loss in the postseason despite allowing only one run was Kerry Wood in Game 3 of the 1998 NLDS -- a 6-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Chicago was swept in that series.
• Hendricks walked four batters in 5 1/3 innings, marking just the third time in his career he issued four free passes in a start. The other two games came this season, but both were on the road.
• Adrián González's second-inning home run was only the fifth homer given up by Hendricks at Wrigley Field this season, and the first since St. Louis' Jedd Gyorko went deep off the right-hander on Aug. 13. Gonzalez is 2-for-6 in his career against Hendricks, and both of those hits are home runs.
• Gonzalez's homer was his seventh in postseason play for the Dodgers, moving him into third place on the franchise's all-time list. Only Duke Snider (11) and Steve Garvey (10) have hit more.
• The home run, which Statcast™ tracked at a 100.8-mph exit velocity with a 30-degree launch angle, was a barreled ball. Hendricks had allowed only 16 barreled balls during the regular season, third-fewest among qualified starters.
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• Gonzalez's homer was his seventh in postseason play for the Dodgers, moving him into third place on the franchise's all-time list. Only Duke Snider (11) and Steve Garvey (10) have hit more.
• Game 2 reached a climactic moment in the seventh when the Cubs mounted a serious challenge to Kershaw. First, Anthony Rizzo drew a leadoff walk on four pitches, which was the first four-pitch walk Kershaw had allowed to a left-handed batter since he walked then-Giants outfielder Norichika Aoki on April 22, 2015.
Then, with two outs and Rizzo standing on first, Baez lined a 1-0 pitch from Kershaw at 102.5 mph off the bat with a launch angle of 24 degrees, according to Statcast™. Balls hit at that speed and angle had gone for hits 90 percent of the time in 2016, and 67 percent of those were home runs. Baez's blast stayed in the park, however, landing in center fielder Joc Pederson's glove at the warning track to end the inning and the Cubs' scoring threat.
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• Jansen took over for Kershaw in the eighth and recorded the first six-out save of his career to seal a tense Game 2 victory for L.A. The last pitcher to post a save of six outs or more in the postseason was the Royals' Wade Davis, who closed out Kansas City's 5-3 win in Game 4 of the World Series on Halloween of last year. To find the last Dodgers pitcher to accomplish such a feat, you'd have to go back to Jay Howell in Game 4 of the World Series on October 19, 1988. One night later, Los Angeles would claim its most recent World Series championship.
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