Cubs announce NLCS roster

LOS ANGELES — The Cubs announced their 25-man roster for the National League Championship Series on Saturday morning, and it looks an awful lot like the roster they used in the Division Series against San Francisco, with one small change.

Against the Dodgers, the Cubs will carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players. The only difference is rookie left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny was added in place of infielder Tommy La Stella. Zastryzny, 24, pitched 3⅔ scoreless innings in relief at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 27, his third major league game.

Chicago will carry four left-handed relief pitchers — Mike Montgomery, Travis Wood, and Zastryzny in addition to closer Aroldis Chapman — to combat the Dodgers’ lefty-heavy offense.

I’m not sure if you hear, but the Dodgers were the worst team in baseball at hitting left-handed pitching in 2016, hitting .213/.290/.332 against southpaws in the regular season.

Manager Joe Maddon set his starting rotation for the NLCS on Friday, keeping the same order Chicago used in the first round, Jon Lester starts in Game 1, followed by Kyle Hendricks at Wrigley Field in Game 2, then Jake Arrietta and John Lackey at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, respectively.

All three catchers got starts for the Cubs in the NLDS, including two for old friend David Ross, who will retire at the end of this season. Willson Contreras, the Game 2 starter behind the plate against San Francisco, also saw time in left field during the series. Miguel Montero, who caught Arrieta in Game 3, also made the NLCS roster for Chicago.

Cubs NLCS roster

Starting pitchers (4): Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey

Relief pitchers (8): Aroldis Chapman*, Carl Edwards, Jr., Justin Grimm, Mike Montgomery*, Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, Travis Wood*, Rob Zastryzny*
*left-handed

Catchers (3): David Ross, Miguel Montero, Willson Contreras

Infielders (4): Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant

Outfielders (6): Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr., Chris Coghlan, Jorge Soler