“We’re trying to convince them how good we are and we keep trying and we’re doing it every step of the way”, said David Ross, Cubs catcher. “It has been a long time coming for this city and hopefully it’s just a taste of what’s about to come”, Rizzo said.
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As the music blared and the strobe lights flashed in the clubhouse, Cubs players and coaches soaked each other.
The North Siders, who hadn’t clinched a postseason series on their home field in, well, ever, took one more step toward the hunt for a red, white and blue October – and that fictitious prediction.
Because Chicago closed out St. Louis in four games, Maddon has several options available to him for Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday against the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers.
No, wait, that’s not the craziest part: The craziest part is their extraordinary light-tower power, the type demonstrated by Schwarber on Tuesday and the type they showed Monday when they broke a postseason record with six home runs in the same game.
No team was hotter down the stretch than Chicago, which finished third in the majors with 97 wins after five straight losing seasons.
“I think we’re too young to even realize what we just did”, young slugger Kris Bryant said.
The Cubs are now headed to their first NL Championship Series since 2003, when they beat Atlanta in the NLDS, but later lost in seven games to the Marlins.
Molina could only watch as the Cardinals were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in their active run of five consecutive postseason appearances. Rizzo lined a homer to right in the sixth before Schwarber powered a shot over the scoreboard in right field to put the Cubs ahead 6-4 in the seventh. “There’s no time to hope and wish that you’re going to win the game”.
But the second inning quickly got away from Lackey, who was visibly angry after yielding a two-out RBI single to pitcher Jason Hammel. He used seven relievers to get to the end of the game. They replied, “The Cubs are going to win today!”
Baez, filling in at shortstop for injured starter Addison Russell, then crushed a three-run homer to right field to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead. He allowed two home runs in 79 at-bats against lefties during the regular season.
All those injuries finally caught up to the Cardinals.
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“I definitely think the ballpark had something to do with this”. You just can’t say which team will benefit from which break, or which hitter will get hot at the right time. “I told the guys I’m saving my first drink for when we win the World Series”. They remain a model for player development, and they can answer the Cubs’ coterie of youngsters with Kolten Wong, Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk.
