Opinion

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs led the league this year in, among other things, wins, winning percentage, run differential and multitasking.

Yes, that's right. Multitasking.

The Chicago Cubs won Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Clayton Kershaw—er, the Los Angeles Dodgers—won Game 2.

You don't want to miss Game 3.

Below, we'll review all of the information for viewing Tuesday night's contest along with the odds and a preview of the crucial Game 3 matchup.

Viewing Information

We've reached the midpoint of the 2016 MLB playoffs, which means it's time to name our mid-postseason All-Star team. 

Seriously, it's a thing. Look it up.

Yes, the sample size is minuscule. But that's the point of October baseball. Every hit is magnified. Every strong pitching performance is elevated to greatness.

For our purposes, we're considering all players who have participated in the postseason—and we're weighing only 2016 postseason stats. Past performance and pedigree won't help here.

The Toronto Blue Jays found out in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series that the Cleveland Indians can bleed after all.

But unfortunately for the Blue Jays, that applied to only one of the Indians.

MLB free agency will provide the majority of the rumors and speculation once the postseason concludes, but there are nonetheless a few trade rumors circulating in October.  

Below, we'll break down two of the big rumors making the rounds.

Two games are in the books in both the American and National League Division Series.

The Cleveland Indians own a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL, while the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied 1-1 in the NL following Los Angeles' 1-0 win Sunday night in Chicago.

The 2016 American League Championship Series couldn't be going much better for the Cleveland Indians, who own a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays with the series shifting to Toronto.

The Blue Jays aren't necessarily in a must-win situation in Game 3, but their chances of reaching the World Series will decline significantly if they find themselves in an 0-3 hole. In that respect, their return to Rogers Centre on Monday night couldn't be coming at a better time.

CHICAGO — Here came the manager. Out of the corner of his eye, from his spot behind home plate, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal spied Dave Roberts come up the dugout steps and out onto the Wrigley Field grass. He was on his way toward the mound.

So Grandal followed his instincts. He headed to the mound himself, jogging briskly, one goal in mind: get to Clayton Kershaw before Roberts did.

Anthony Rizzo is an excellent hitter. That needs to be said, because for the first six games of the 2016 MLB postseason, he has looked like anything but.

The Chicago Cubs first baseman went 0-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's 1-0 loss to Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Rizzo is now 1-for-23 in the playoffs with six strikeouts and zero extra-base hits.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs return to action on Sunday for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series with a stellar pitching matchup featuring Clayton Kershaw against Kyle Hendricks. 

Kershaw has been a true horse for the Dodgers so far in the postseason, pitching three times against the Washington Nationals in the division series.