Rich Hill pitches Dodgers to shutout win over Cubs, NLCS lead

Rich Hill pitches Dodgers to shutout win over Cubs, NLCS lead

Convinced there would be another opportunity to get back to the big leagues, he focused on executing pitches without worrying about his current circumstances.

Fourteen months later, Hill allowed two hits over six innings to beat Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta and the Cubs 6-0 on Wednesday, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 NL Championship Series lead.

Rookie Corey Seager had three hits, including a go-ahead single in the third, and Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer off Arrieta in the fourth.

After winning a big-league-high 103 games during the regular season and sparking belief they could win the World Series for the first time since 1908, the Cubs have been shut out in consecutive games for the first time since May 2014, managing just six hits — five of them singles.

More than anything, I think we need to get a couple ... hits and runs early to try to get that kind of feeling back,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, “because, obviously, when you’re not scoring any runs, it makes it even more difficult in the dugout.

Hill, who made two starts in the independent Atlantic League in August 2015 before signing a minor-league deal with Boston, struck out six and walked two.

Playing their 200th postseason game, the Dodgers posted consecutive shutouts for the first time.

Hill, acquired from the A’s with Josh Reddick at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, has given up one run in 23 innings over four home starts for the Dodgers.