Cubs vs. Dodgers: By The Numbers
(CBS) The inevitable question was asked of Cubs ace Jake Arrieta after Tuesday night's NLDS win over the Cardinals: Dodgers or Mets?
As one might expect, it doesn't matter to Arrieta who awaits in the NLCS -- although he did toss a no-hitter against the Dodgers. However, the Cubs were 7-0 against the Mets. They were 3-4 against the Dodgers.
The Cubs' next opponent will be determined on Thursday with a decisive Game 5 in Los Angeles.
But that got us to thinking, how do the teams stack up statistically?
Here's how the Cubs offense fared against the Dodgers' starting pitching. For purposes of this comparison, we selected the three pitchers used in the NLDS against the Mets: Clayton Kershaw (16-7), Zack Greinke (19-3) and Brett Anderson (10-9).
(Click on the images to enlarge.)
Here's how the Cubs' starting pitching fared against the Dodgers' hitting. Again, we selected the Cubs pitchers used on the NLDS against the Cardinals: Arrieta (22-6), Jon Lester (11-12), Kyle Hendricks (8-7) and Jason Hammel (10-7).
Stats come from MLB.com.
While the Cubs line up their rotation to their choosing, the Mets-Dodgers winner will have far less flexibility, as they both trot out aces Thursday when New York turns to right-hander DeGrom and Los Angeles gives the ball to right-hander Greinke. That would almost certainly prevent either of those players from pitching until Game 3.