Cubs Vs. Dodgers: When And How To Watch Game 5, 2017 NL Championship Series

It's October, and the Chicago Cubs get to do something they haven't done in more than a century: defend a World Series title. After a tight series against the Washington Nationals, the North Siders now challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. The best-of-seven series began Saturday, Oct. 14.

Can the Cubs make it back to the World Series this season? Will the 2017 postseason join last year as part of a Chicago dynasty of multiple championships? Patch gets you ready for each playoff game with all the info you need to know before you enjoy the action on the field.

Also, check out the tentative postseason schedule for the Cubs if they advance to future rounds. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake View and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

2017 NL Championship Series

Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1

GAME 5

First Pitch: 7:08 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19

Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago

TV | Radio | Streaming: TBS | 670 the Score (WSCR-AM), ESPNRadio 1000 (WMVP-AM) | MLB.com

Pitching Matchup: Jose Quintana (0-0; 1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 11 K, 4 BB) vs. Clayton Kershaw (1-0; 4.76 ERA, 11.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 11 K, 4 BB)

Previous NLCS Game Results

GAME 1

Cubs 2, Dodgers 5

W: Kenta Maeda (1-0; 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB) | L: Hector Rendon (0-1; 0.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, 0 BB) | S: Kenley Jansen (1; 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 K, 0 BB)

GAME 2

Cubs 1, Dodgers 2

W: Kenley Jansen (1-0; 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) | L: Brian Duensing(0-1; 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K)

GAME 3

Cubs 1, Dodgers 6

W: Yu Darvish (1-0; 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB) | L: Kyle Hendricks (0-1; 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 K, 1 BB)

GAME 4

Cubs 3, Dodgers 2

W: Jake Arrieta (1-0; 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 9 K, 5 BB) | L: Alex Wood (0-1; 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 K, 0 BB) | S: Wade Davis (1; 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 K, 3 BB)

Phantom Foul Fiasco

Cubs fans saw the 2003 postseason flash before their eyes in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 4, and some probably thought all the "curses" that plagued the team for more than a century had returned after being vanquished after last year's World Series win.

With a runner on first and Chicago only up 3-2 after LA's Justin Turner homered to lead off the inning, the Dodgers' Curtis Granderson was called out on a swinging strike from Cubs closer Wade Davis. Granderson, however, argued to home plate umpire Jim Wolf that he had foul tipped the ball, which catcher Wilson Contreras caught on a bounce.

The play wasn't reviewable — although replay showed Granderson obviously whiffed on the pitch — but the umpires huddled to discuss the call, eventually reversing it. That decision sent Cubs manager Joe Maddon onto the field to angrily argue the reversal, and he was ejected for the second time in the NLCS. He was thrown out of Game 1 for arguing a replay reversal of a play at the plate.

During his postgame press conference, Maddon continued to be critical of the reversal while still trying not to pile on the umpires.

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"It was not a good explanation," he said about what umpires told him concerning the reversed call. "Listen, I'm all about the umpires, and I'm not going to sit here and bang on the umpires. But that can't happen. The process was horrible, … and if Granderson hits the next pitch out, I might come running out of the clubhouse in my jockstrap. That was really that bad, so you can't permit that to happen. The process was wrong.

"The explanation was eventually — eventually, it turned into hearing two sounds. Not one of them saw a foul tip or thought it was a foul tip. It was based on two sounds, and I totally cannot agree with that process, whatsoever. When you have 40-some thousand people, it's late in the game, you know, the other sound could've come from some lady screaming in the first row. I have no idea, but I can't buy that process."

"It could've been a guy, too," Maddon quickly and quietly added in what appeared to be an attempt to dispel any notions that women would be the only fans screaming in the Wrigley Field stands.

Contreras' take on the eight-inning drama was more succinct than his manager's and spared everyone the mental image of an enraged Maddon rushing the field in only his skivvies.

"The ball never lies," he told ESPN's Dan Mullen.

To his credit, Wolf apparently owned up to his mistake following the game, according to Jay Cohen of The Associated Press:

Fans React To Blown Call

Maddon might've been cut short voicing his frustration over the eighth-inning reversal, but fans online picked up where he left off:

The Wrigley faithful also expressed their displeasure with the umpires. But theirs was a silent protest of sorts, involving hand signs:

Cubs' Dynamic Duo At The Plate

Strong pitching by Arrieta and Davis kept the Dodgers at bay, but the Cubs don't win Game 5 without another 1-2 punch: Contreras and second baseman Javier Baez. The bats of that dynamic duo were responsible for all of Chicago's runs Wednesday night.

It was a big performance, in particular, for Baez, who was kept out of the Cubs' Game 3 starting lineup because of his struggles at the plate. Before his second-inning home run that came two batters after Contreras went deep, he had gone 0-for-20 in the playoffs.

Baez, 24, homered again in the fifth, making him the youngest Cubs player to hit multiple home runs in a playoff game. He also became the fifth North Sider in team history with two home runs in a posteason game, joining Alex Gonzalez, Eric Karros and Aramis Ramirez in 2003, and Gary Matthews in 1984, according to MLB.com.

His second homer was his fourth in the postseason at Wrigley, tying Kyle Schwarber for sending the most balls out of their home park in the postseason.

Contreras earned a bit of distinction with his home run, too. Measured at 491 feet by Statcast, it was the longest postseason homer since 2015, according to ESPN.

Bullpen Boogie Down

Besides giving the Cubs enough runs to win Game 5, the home runs by Baez and Contreras also gave Chicago's bullpen an excuse to dance, a tradition that started in the regular season at Wrigley Field. The last time the players in the bullpen were able to get their boogie on was when Schwarber homered in the first inning of Game 3.

The Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez (left) and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. (Baez photo by Matt Slocum | Associated Press; Kershaw pool photo by Wally Skalij | Los Angeles Times via Associated Press)

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