Preview: Cubs at Dodgers

[October 19, 2016]  Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias becomes the youngest pitcher to start a postseason game when he takes the mound against the visiting Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday. Urias, who reached the majors in late May, looks to help the Dodgers take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Urias will be 20 years, 68 days old at the start of Game 4, surpassing Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen (20 years, 175 days in 1984) as the youngest postseason starter. "Julio, I think that we expect him to just go out there and compete, use his pitch mix and go after these guys," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said at a press conference. "Give us a chance to win a baseball game. It's what Julio's done all year long." Catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer and third baseman Justin Turner added a solo blast as the Dodgers recorded a 6-0 victory in Game 3 for their second straight shutout -- holding Chicago to six hits over the 18 innings. "We're not hitting the ball hard," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after Game 3. "They pitched well, obviously. I have no solid explanation. We just got to keep working at it. ... We're just not getting the results right now."

TV: 8:08 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH John Lackey (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Julio Urias (1-0, 0.00)

Lackey makes his 25th postseason appearance (22nd start) and is 8-5 with a 3.22 ERA, but lasted only four innings - allowing three runs and seven hits - in a no-decision against San Francisco in the NL Division Series. The 37-year-old first pitched in the postseason in 2002 with the Angels and later pitched in the World Series for Boston in 2013. "I had a long break in between World Series, so you realize how special they are and how hard it is to get there and how meaningful those games are for sure," Lackey said at a press conference. "They're tough to get to, and they're tough to win."

Urias went 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 18 appearances (15 starts) in the regular season and said it is a much more stressful feeling to pitch in the postseason. "The pressure is always there. It's something that you have to deal with," Urias said at a press conference. "I felt the adrenaline when I was on the bench, so I'm thinking that it's something that I'm also going to feel. I felt it in Washington, but then I knew that it was something that I could handle and something I could do." Urias pitched against the Cubs twice this season - getting hammered for six runs (five earned) in five innings in his second major-league start and later giving up one run and six hits in six innings in 3-2 victory Aug. 27.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cubs 2B-LF Ben Zobrist is 1-for-10 in the series and 4-for-26 in seven games this postseason.

2. Los Angeles SS Corey Seager went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Game 3 after going 1-for-17 over the previous four games.

3. Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo got a broken-bat field single in the ninth inning of Game 3 to make him 1-for-11 in the series and 2-for-26 in the postseason.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 4, Cubs 1

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