Dodgers: Three Takeaways From the Series Win Over the Cubs

The Dodgers had a memorable weekend as they won three games that were highly contested with the Chicago Cubs. Here are the takeaways from LA’s series victory.

The Chicago Cubs came to Los Angeles this weekend looking to establish themselves as one of the premier teams in the National League. Playing against the Dodgers is a test of legitimacy for any team and this weekend it was the Cubs’ turn. The Dodgers ended up taking three of four games and it also gave them a season series victory over Chicago. If the two teams finish with identical records, the Dodgers will get home field advantage.

While the Cubs battle teams like the Brewers, Cardinals, and Braves to determine who is the next best National League team after the Dodgers, the boys in Dodger blue once again proved they are better than the Cubs. NL MVP candidate Cody Bellinger also broke out of his small slump and homered in back to back games to end the series.

Alex Verdugo also shook off his slump and helped play a key part in the series. Here are three takeaways from LA’s series victory over the Cubs this past weekend.

Cubs the biggest threat to the Dodgers?

On the surface, the Cubs lost three of four games in Los Angeles this past weekend but when you dig deeper it was a highly contested series.  The biggest win in the series was by four runs and the other three games were decided by one or two runs.  Chicago did also not have Craig Kimbrel in this series but he will certainly be available if the two teams match up in October.

Like the Dodgers, the Cubs’ pen has been questionable but Kimbrel will help slide everyone down an inning.  The Cubs also have the talent and experience to be a real thorn in the Dodgers’ side come October.  Chicago can throw three left-handed starters at the Dodgers if they choose to, which has been the strategy most teams use against the blue.  Cole Hamels, Jon Lester, and Kyle Hendricks are also playoff tested starters.

Outside of their rotation the Cubs still have a solid championship winning core of Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Willson Contreras who are not afraid to see the Dodgers in the postseason.  Out of potential teams, the Dodgers would want to see in October, the Cubs are not going to be at the top of that list.

Kenley Jansen’s struggles resurface

Entering Saturday’s save situation against the Cubs, Kenley Jansen had been on a nice streak of dominant outings since that blown save in San Diego on May 5th.  Then came Saturday night’s game in which Kenley served up a game losing two-run home run to Anthony Rizzo.  After such a string of good outings, it was just a blip on the radar right?

Then came Sunday evening’s game and although he converted the save on a nice play by Alex Verdugo to end the game, the outing was anything but ordinary.  The Cubs had the go-ahead and winning run in scoring position with less than two outs.  To be fair it was also the third straight outing for Jansen, which is pushing it for any reliever and especially a closer who had just blown a save less than 24 hours prior.

While Jansen did earn the save, he did not make anyone feel better as that is now two shaky outings in a row.  There is no doubt that Kenley will be unavailable for Monday’s game, but when he gets on the mound again it will be worth monitoring.  The Dodgers are going to need Jansen to be dominant in the postseason if they want any chance of getting over their World Series hump.