The National League Championship Series gets going on Saturday night with two deserving teams who had opposite paths to get here. The Los Angeles Dodgers easily swept their opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks, in their NLDS. The Chicago Cubs had a back-and-forth affair with the Washington Nationals with the Cubs managing to take a winner-takes-all fifth game to get here. Now they meet in Game 1 of the NLCS in Los Angeles. Here's the latest preview with odds, start time, TV channel, and live stream options for watching.

MLB game preview

The Chicago Cubs needed a full five-game series with the Washington Nationals, but they were able to win a thrilling fifth game to move on.

Chicago defeated the Nationals at their home field, 9-8. Addison Russell drove in four runs in the game while relief pitcher Wade Davis recorded seven outs to help get the save. That put the Cubs back into the National League Championship Series for a second-straight year as they continue their World Series title defense. For tonight's game, left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15 ERA) is on the mound.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made quick work of the Diamondbacks in their NLDS, recording four-straight wins. Three of those wins came by three runs or more. Tonight's game will feature their ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound trying to keep the Cubs' bats at bay. Kershaw went 18-4 with 202 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA this past season.

The team won't have All-Star shortstop Corey Seager due to a back injury as he was left off the Dodgers' roster. Seager hit .292 for the team this past MLB season.

The Odds Shark website lists the Dodgers as favorites to win tonight with money line prices ranging from -190 to -215 at several sportsbooks. The underdog Chicago Cubs are listed at +155 to +185 at several books.

For the over/under run total, that's currently at seven runs for the complete game in Los Angeles. It's worth noting that Chicago is 18-6 straight up in their last 24 games while the Dodgers are 5-0 in their last five games. The Dodgers are also 4-1 in their last five meetings with the Chicago Cubs.

How to watch it live

Tonight's Chicago Cubs vs.

Los Angeles Dodgers NLCS Game 1 is scheduled for an 8:08 p.m. Eastern Time start. The TBS network will be the exclusive television coverage provider for this series. Any cable and satellite subscribers who have TBS as part of their channel lineup should be able to head to the TBS.com website to log in and see a live stream feed or use compatible WatchTBS apps for various devices.

An additional live stream option is to use SlingTV. The monthly-subscription service features TBS on both its Sling Blue and Sling Orange channel lineups. Anyone with a hi-speed internet connection can head over to the Sling.com website to sign up for a one-week free trial of this service and begin watching tonight's MLB Playoffs game live.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED