Only once since they last brought home the World Series in 1908 had the Cubs won a playoff series and never before had they finished off the job at their century-plus-old ballpark.
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“They had two lefties that made us pay, and that really is the difference in the game”, Matheny said.
By finishing off the Cardinals Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, Maddon’s club has set itself up perfectly for the NLCS – either going east or west for the first two games of the series against the Mets or Dodgers, two teams pushed to the cross-country limit by their five-game NLDS.
The NL playoffs opened with Arrieta tossing a five-hit shutout in the wild-card game against the Pirates, and the Cubs just kept on rolling against the Cardinals.
Next series up they will likely face another quality team in either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers, but they should be considered a much more serious contender now than they were before the series.
Cruz’s clutch double got St. Louis within one in the sixth, but he was cut down at home by outfielder Jorge Soler when he tried to score on Brandon Moss’ tying RBI single. The Cubs have been carried by their young hitters in the postseason, and Schwarber’s huge home run already stands out as one of the team’s best moments.
Daniel Murphy gave Mets fans something to cheer about when he connected for a home run to right field in the third inning. “We just beat the best team in baseball”. The Cardinals asserted an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Stephen Piscotty home run in the first.
Manager Joe Maddon needed a lot of help from his bullpen to close it out after starter Jason Hammel was reached for three hits in three innings.
The Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez (9) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game 4 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. San Francisco pounded St. Louis mercilessly in the series, picking up a 4-1 series win before ultimately beating the Kansas City Royals to win the title. But Murphy flew out to end the inning and New York went down in order in the ninth. Chicago won the series three games to one.
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I think this is very cool, and as someone who audibly shrieked when Schwarber hit it out (in a game in which I had no rooting interest), I think it should be celebrated.
