The mid-October late afternoon sun won’t produce the intense shadows in Chavez Ravine that it does in late August, and that should provide a degree of comfort for Dodgers hitters in Tuesday’s National League Championship Series game against the Chicago Cubs.
The last time Jake Arrieta started a 5 p.m. game in Dodger Stadium, on Aug. 30, 2015, the Cubs right-hander threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
There were virtually no shadows in the Dodger Stadium infield at 5 p.m. on Monday, when the Dodgers began their off-day workout in advance of Game 3 in a best-of-seven series that is tied, 1-1.
But Arrieta, who won the NL Cy Young Award in 2015 and went 18-8 with a 3.10 earned-run average this season, could still benefit from twilight conditions in the first few innings.