The Chicago Cubs are in for a really tough test on Sunday night as they will take on Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
The Cubs did gain the early advantage in the series on Saturday night as they got a grand slam from Miguel Montero and six strong innings of work by Jon Lester en route to an 8-4 victory and a 1-0 series lead.
Here is how the Cubs will line up as they look to take a 2-0 series lead:
1 Dexter Fowler – CF
2 Kris Bryant – 3B
3 Anthony Rizzo – 1B
4 Ben Zobrist – LF
Chicago Baseball
5 Addison Russell - SS
6 Javier Baez - 2B
7 Willson Contreras - C
8 Jason Heyward - RF
9 Kyle Hendricks - P
Joe Maddon opted for a right-handed heavy lineup, but he also wanted to give Hendricks some good defense behind him, so he kept Heyward in the lineup despite his difficulties against left-handed pitching this season.
No Cubs player has hit Kershaw particularly hard, but Fowler is a rare exception. He is 18-for-44 in his career against the Dodgers’ ace, with a good number of his at-bats coming while he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.