Kenta Maeda
With the series tied at two games apiece, the Cubs looked to Jon Lester to keep up his strong playoff performance. The Dodgers also went with their Game 1 starter, Kenta Maeda. The Cubs started the scoring in the first inning on a single by Dexter Fowler and an RBI double by Anthony Rizzo, but could muster nothing further in the first. The Cubs left runners on base in the first, second, fourth, and fifth innings, but could not get another run in. The Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth following a Howie Kendrick double and steal of third. Adrián González hit the ball to Rizzo who could not field it cleanly and the run scored as a result. The Dodgers lifted Maeda from the game in the fourth and turned it over to the bullpen. In the sixth, Javier Báez continued his strong postseason play by singling to start the inning. Following a strikeout of Jason Heyward, Addison Russell homered to center field to break the deadlock and put the Cubs up 3–1. After stranding two more runners in the seventh, the Cubs offense broke the game open in the eighth. Russell reached on error and pinch hitter Willson Contreras singled to put runners at first and second. Pinch hitter Albert Almora, Jr. bunted the runners over and Dexter Fowler followed with an infield singled to score the Cubs' fourth run of the game. An infield single by Kris Bryant scored Contreras and a walk by Ben Zobrist loaded the bases for Báez. Báez, as he seemed to have done all postseason, came through with a bases-clearing double to put the Cubs up 8–1. The Dodgers added a run in the bottom of the eighth off of Pedro Strop on a double by Carlos Ruiz. Cub closer Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth and allowed a run-scoring single by Josh Reddick and a sacrifice fly by Andrew Toles to make the score 8–4. Chapman induced Justin Turner to ground out to end the game. The win put the Cubs on the brink of the World Series with a three games to two lead as the series moved back to Wrigley Field. The Cubs took advantage of the Dodgers bullpen in the series, scoring 26 runs in 26.2 innings pitched by Maeda and the Dodger bullpen.