The Cubs were losing before the first out of Game 4, after a two-run homer by Piscotty. The Cubs took the lead in the second inning on a three-run homer by Javier Baez-a player who was demoted to the minors this year, then injured, then dealt with the loss of a family member before returning to the ballclub.
Advertisement
Rizzo put the Cubs back in front in the bottom half of the sixth inning, blasting a solo homer into the right-field stands to give Chicago a 5-4 edge.
The question now is whether the Cubs will be able to break a curse that has left them out of the World Series since 1908, which is the last time they won a playoff series.
They will continue in the playoffs Saturday, playing either the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 7-game National League Championship Series. In a historical season for both teams, the Cubs came away victorious of the Cardinals winning the series 3-1. He went 1 for 8 with two strikeouts in the first three games of the series.
It was a disappointing finale for St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, who guided the Cardinals to 100 victories and the major league’s best regular-season record.
The collapse in the second wasted a fast start for St. Louis, which grabbed a 2-0 lead when Piscotty connected on Hammel’s fourth pitch of the game. They showed that in the series in a big way, especially in Game 3 when they launched six home runs.
“Obviously, times weren’t easy the last few years, ” said Rizzo, who hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, “but with all the talent we had, and all the talent we were building, everyone knew that the Cubs were coming”.
Once again, the Cardinals went down quietly in the eighth, and the Cubs couldn’t add more insurance despite getting a leadoff triple from Kris Bryant and also loading the bases with two outs in the frame. Schwarber’s homer that helped his club clinch the NLDS on the North Side of Chicago is going to receive Pope-like protection for an undisclosed amount of time. A couple of singles, a groundout and a strikeout brought Hammel to the plate with two down, but he surprised with a single up the middle off John Lackey that scored one run. Kornegay and his fellow bookmakers have gladly taken money from the Cubs fans while setting odds as high as 300-to-1.
Cubs: SS Addison Russell had tests Tuesday morning on his hamstring and didn’t play.
Advertisement
The Cubs then returned it to its original location on top of the board and will leave it there until their postseason run has concluded.
