HOUSTON -- Texans left tackle Duane Brown said he will play on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, barring any setbacks during practice this week.Brown returned to practice last week for the first time since he tore the quadriceps tendon in his right knee in the 2015 regular-season finale against the Jaguars.[Im] very excited, Brown said. I love this game, I love to be out there with my teammates. I love competing. Being sidelined for almost nine months now, its been tough.It was very difficult. It was the toughest injury Ive had in my career, and to have it going into Year 9, its taxing on your body. But mentally I had the right frame of mind going into it. Its just been a grind.Brown spent all of training camp and the preseason on the physically unable to perform list while rehabbing the injury. The Texans chose to put him on the active roster before the regular season instead of leaving him on the physically unable to perform list, which would have kept him out of practice for at least the first six weeks of the season.To play, Brown said, it will be important for him to make sure he can generate the same kind of power in his injured right leg as he can in his left. He said he wants to make sure he can be confident in his technique and make sure he can take the same steps he took before the injury without overcompensating for the injury.Brown said Wednesdays practice was the toughest test hes had in his recovery, but he was happy with what he was able to accomplish.It felt pretty good, Brown said. Just trying to stack the days consecutively. [Im] very encouraged by what happened today, and as of now, Im good to go. CHICAGO -- So much for October closer. With his Dodgers desperate for a win, Clayton Kershaw delivered the best start of his checkered playoff career.The ace left-hander pitched seven sparkling innings, Adrian Gonzalez homered and Los Angeles beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 Sunday night to tie the NL Championship Series at a game apiece.Kershaw retired his first 14 batters and allowed just two hits in first outing since he pitched three times in the NL Division Series, including a two-out save in Game 5 on Thursday night in Washington. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner struck out six and walked one while throwing just 84 pitches in a brisk outing that could help when he returns later in the NLCS.It was one of those games where one pitch could have been the deciding factor, Kershaw said. So, really just kind of couldnt look up for a minute for air and just kind of kept going through it and fortunate to get through it tonight.Kenley Jansen then struck out four in two perfect innings for his third save of the playoffs. The teams combined for just five hits for the lowest total in a playoff game since the Cardinals and Pirates had four in Game 4 of their 2013 NL Division Series.I think that you couldnt have scripted it any better, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. And it was just another fun ballgame.Roberts almost went to Jansen with a runner on first and two out in the seventh, but Kershaw argued successfully to stay in the game. Javier Baez then hit a drive to the warning track in deep center, but Joc Pederson was there for the catch.He hit it pretty good, Kershaw said. And yeah, after Dave came out and that, I kind of talked my way into it. I really wanted to -- he was probably not going to trust me again after that, but, fortunately, he hit it at somebody, so it was good.Baezs drive was one of a precious few hard-hit balls for the Cubs. Kershaw was that good.The Dodgers needed a clutch pitching performance after their heartbreaking 8-4 loss in the series opener. And Kershaw responded with a gem that continued his reputation repair after a handful of playoff duds over the years. He was just 3-6 with a 4.79 ERA in 16 career postseason games coming into this series.I feel like every start he has the chance to be great, catcher Yasmani Grandal said. Its just unbelievable to see him pitch, its unbelievable to see him compete.Game 3 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta, who pitched a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium last August, faces left-hander Rich Hill.The Cubs lost a 1-0 game in the postseason for the first time since Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox blanked them in the 1918 World Series opener.Playoffs is always about pitching and defense, said Miguel Montero, the Game 1 star for the Cubs. Tonight we played great defense as well and we couldnt score.Chicago, trying for its first pennant in 71 years, waasted a solid start by major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of three-hit ball in his first outing since he left his Division Series start against San Francisco with a bruised right forearm.ddddddddddddHendricks only mistake was a second-inning fastball that Gonzalez drove over the wall in left-center for his second homer of the playoffs. Gonzalez also had a tying two-run single in the eighth inning of the series opener, but Monteros pinch-hit grand slam was the big blow in a dramatic win for Chicago.A day later, the Cubs couldnt get anything going against Kershaw.He kept the ball off the fat part of our bat, manager Joe Maddon said. He threw strikes like he normally does. So despite not having rest, his command and velocity were still good.Slumping slugger Anthony Rizzo just missed a home run with a foul drive in the fourth, and then bounced out. Baez and Willson Contreras hit consecutive two-out singles in the fifth for Chicagos first baserunners, but Jason Heyward fouled out to third.Nothing seemed to bother Kershaw on a muggy night at Wrigley Field. After Grandal dropped a foul popup in the seventh, Kershaw responded with a wry grin, and then struck out Ben Zobrist.I honestly thought with him pitching with a couple of days rest, he wasnt going to be that nasty, Baez said, but obviously he came ready for us and he just did his job.Jansen backed Kershaw with flawless relief. The big right-hander struck out Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant before Rizzo lined meekly to second for the final out.ABOUT GONZALEZGonzalez became the seventh player in major league history to homer in at least six consecutive playoff series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It was the third go-ahead homer of his postseason career.WHAT A RELIEFWhile the Cubs struggled against Jansen and Kershaw, Hendricks and their bullpen gave them a chance. Carl Edwards Jr., Mike Montgomery, Pedro Strop and Aroldis Chapman combined for 3 2/3 innings of hitless relief.Josh Reddick got Los Angeles last hit of the night in the sixth, putting runners on first and second. Edwards then came in and got Pederson to hit a soft liner to second that Baez let drop before starting a heady inning-ending double play .UP NEXTThe Cubs and Dodgers work out in Los Angeles on Monday, and then Arrieta and Hill return to the mound for the first time since the Division Series. Arrieta made one start against Los Angeles this season, pitching seven scoreless innings in a no-decision at Wrigley on May 31. Hill, a fourth-round draft pick by the Cubs in 2002, has made one appearance against his first major league team, recording two outs in relief for Boston on May 21, 2011.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '