CHICAGO -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made all the right moves in the previous playoff round. Sticking with Joe Blanton backfired in the NL Championship Series opener.Blanton gave up a tiebreaking grand slam to pinch-hitter Miguel Montero and a homer to Dexter Fowler on consecutive pitches in the eighth inning Saturday night, dooming the Dodgers to an 8-4 loss against the Chicago Cubs.Well be ready tomorrow, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. This game gave us a lot of confidence. We know we can beat them.Roberts was praised for his aggressive pitching moves in the Division Series clincher at Washington, where closer Kenley Jansen was summoned in the seventh and ace starter Clayton Kershaw earned a save.But against the Cubs, a big decision backfired.Gonzalez had just tied the score in the eighth with a two-out, two-run single on one of the 100 mph-plus darts from Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman.Blanton relieved to start the bottom half and gave up Ben Zobrists leadoff double. Addison Russell grounded to third, and Roberts had Blanton intentionally walk left-handed-hitting Jason Heyward to bring up righty Javier Baez for a righty-against-righty matchup.Youve got to walk Heyward with the open base, Roberts said.Baez flied to right. Lefty Chris Coghlan hit for righty David Ross, and Roberts decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases -- bringing up Chapmans spot in the batting order.Obviously, Im looking at the card and I see Chapmans still in the game, Roberts said. I felt good for us to win the game, if we could get out of that inning.Cubs manager Joe Maddon responded by sending up the left-handed-hitting Montero. Roberts chose to stick with Blanton -- Chicago would have batted righty Willson Contreras if the Dodgers brought in a lefty.I trust Joe. Ive trusted him all year long. Hes been great for us, and he got ahead 0-2 and left a pitch up, Roberts said. It just didnt work out. But it was -- our guys fought. It was a well-played game.Montero fouled off a slider and swung past another. Blanton came back with yet another slider on the 0-2 pitch. Montero drove it about halfway up the right-field bleachers.Bases loaded, I was going to go with my strength, Blanton said. I faced him earlier in the year. I kind of did the same thing and had success. Got ahead and tried to bury a slider and I didnt and got lucky on that one, actually. Probably the same pitch as the next one, or very close. Both backup sliders. Just didnt execute. Especially 0-2, cant do that in that situation.Montero took a curtain call, and the crowd was still roaring when Fowler sent a hanging curveball 362 feet to right.Kershaw will try to tie the best-of-seven series Sunday night for the Dodgers, coming off a heavy workload in the NLDS. The three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched in all three Los Angeles wins and earned a two-out save in the decisive Game 5 on Thursday.That was one of several unconventional moves by Roberts, who pushed Jansen to a career-high 51 pitches before Kershaw came to the rescue.This time, the Dodgers played from behind most of the night.Kenta Maeda gave up three runs and four hits before pinch-hitter Andre Ethier hit a solo homer batting for the pitcher in the fifth.Los Angeles managed just one run and four hits in six innings against Jon Lester before tying it in the eighth.Trailing 3-1, the Dodgers loaded the bases with none out when Andrew Toles beat Kris Bryant to third after he fielded Justin Turners infield single.Chapman came in to relieve Pedro Strop and struck out Corey Seager and Yasiel Puig before Gonzalez lined a 102 mph fastball up the middle.If it was a sloppy game and we didnt play or compete, you get a little bit more of a sour face, Roberts said. But we played hard. We played well. And we do have Kersh going tomorrow, so thats a good thing. Metta World Peace Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Houston Rockets Shirts .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. https://www.cheaprocketsonline.com/337z-scottie-pippen-jersey-rockets.html . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. James Harden Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Don Chaney Jersey . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. CHICAGO -- Jorge Soler has made the Chicago Cubs lineup deeper by going deep.Soler, who hit a three-run home run to lead Chicago to a 6-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, has hit seven home runs in seven starts since coming off the disabled list in early August. Hes hitting .379 in 10 games over that stretch.When Jorge is in there it makes a deep, long lineup, said Cubs catcher David Ross, who hit a solo home run as the Cubs won their third straight and 17th in 20 games.When he was out ... the lineup was shortened, you know, once you get past a certain guy, its a little easier to navigate the lineup, Ross said.Hitting in the sixth spot, Soler sent Milwaukee starter Jimmy Nelsons 2-2 pitch far over the wall in left-center field, depositing it just under the videoboard atop the stands.The homer capped a five-run first inning after RBI singles by Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell.That made for an easy night for Cubs starter Jon Lester (13-4), who got his fourth straight win, giving up one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out seven. He hasnt lost since July 3.You get five runs after the bottom of the first, it kind of relaxes you, you dont have to grind as much, Lester said.Lester and the rest of the Cubs starting pitchers have been magnificent, going 11-0 in August, with Chicagos only two losses being hung on relievers. But Lester credited the offense for the starters success.It makes our lives as pitchers a lot easier when theyre consistent, and doing what theyve been doing pretty much the whole year for us, Lester said. We just kind of go about our business after what they do.Nelson (6-13) walked leadoff batter Dexter Fowler then hit Kris Bryant with a pitch to begin the first. Then came Solers home run.Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Soler has worked on staying patient since coming back from the DL.Hes really staying in the zone, Maddon said.Carl Edwards Jr. and Travis Wood combined for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Cubs.Nelson is 1-10 over his last 14 starts.Milwaukee rarely threatened Lester. The Brewers got a run in the sixth when Keon Broxton singled, then stole two bases before scoring on a groundout byy Orlando Arcia.dddddddddddd Milwaukee loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the second inning, but Lester got Nelson to ground into an inning-ending forceout.The loss was the fifth in six games for the Brewers.Were having a tough go of it putting together offense, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. But theres no breaks, no quit. We just keep going at it.LA STELLA RETURNSCubs INF Tommy La Stella will report to Double-A Tennessee, and Maddon said he hopes La Stella will be back with the big league team by early September. La Stella was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on July 29, but refused to report, and the Cubs placed him on the temporary inactive list on Aug. 9. La Stella reportedly said he was contemplating retirement. Hes reported to Double-A, and moving on up to Triple-A, and hell be back here probably by the first of September, Maddon said before the game. La Stella, 27, was hitting .295 in 51 games for the Cubs this season before the demotion.TRAINERS ROOMBrewers: OF Ryan Braun is day-to-day after crashing into a wall at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Braun injured his left knee and ankle and was out of the lineup Wednesday. Braun and Counsell said he might be ready to play Thursday in Chicago and is expected to play over the weekend in Seattle. ... RHP Chase Anderson, who was hit in the left quadriceps by Bryants comebacker Tuesday, said he felt much better and would play light catch and evaluate from there. Counsell said Anderson might be well enough to start in the Brewers three-game series in Seattle.Cubs: OF Chris Coghlan was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a right rib contusion. ... RHP Joe Smith was placed on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain. The sidearm reliever said he didnt feel right during his ninth-inning appearance on Tuesday, when he walked two of the three hitters he faced, and that it might be a recurrence of an injury from May.UP NEXT:The Cubs send RHP Jake Arrieta (14-5, 2.55) to the mound for the series finale on Thursday. RHP Zach Davies (9-5, 3.80) will pitch for the Brewers. ' ' '