Joe Maddon posed for a selfie on the field with his wife.
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“It’s even more important right now”, said Maddon after the Cubs’ 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday that wrapped up the National League Division Series in four games.
However, Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler prevented a go-ahead run as he gunned down Cruz at the plate on a ideal throw to catcher Miguel Montero for the tag.
“They deserve it”, Rizzo said in the middle of the party. “It’s been a long time coming for this city, and hopefully it’s just a sign of things to come”.
The Cubs celebrated in late September after clinching a wild-card berth.
The Cubs also are missing a key player. Then they took the celebration back onto the field as fans went insane – Vedder, from the local area, pitched right in.
The Cubs will face the victor of the Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Mets matchup, which is tied 2-2. His third postseason homer came on a 1-2 pitch and gave Chicago a 6-4 lead.
Jaime Garcia gave up just one earned run over eight innings for the Cardinals as the Brewers fell to St. Louis 5-1 Saturday evening at Busch Stadium.
Aaron Rodgers engineered a fourth-quarter drive that finished with a touchdown toss to Richard Rodgers, cementing a Packers’ 27-17 win over a Seattle Seahawks team that had given Rodgers and the Packers trouble in recent seasons.
A day after hitting a post-season-record six homers, the Cubs hammered their way into the NL Championship Series by taking the best-of-five set before a rollicking crowd.
3B Kris Bryant was 1-for-4 with a triple.
The banged-up Cardinals had reached the NLCS in the last four years. “There was considerable weakness in his thumb”, manager Mike Matheny said.
“That’s always hard to walk away from”. “He’s been incredible, not only about hitting but about different scenarios in the game”, Montero said.
Meanwhile, franchises such as the Texas Rangers, headlined by Cliff Lee’s superb 2010 playoff run, and the Mets, with Tom Seaver dominating in 1969 and 1973, have been buoyed by plenty of masterful postseason starts over the years. Of the 39 players to hit at least 16 home runs in their first 69 big league games, only Schwarber and Ryan Braun have also stolen more than two bases during that time.
And with the ball flying out again, the Cubs won for the 12th time in 13 games. Javier Baez got the start at shortstop. He exited after giving up a leadoff walk to Jhonny Peralta in the fourth. First baseman Stephen Piscotty then launched first-pitch, two-run homer to center. “They had two lefties that made us pay”.
Rizzo’s go-ahead homer in the sixth was his second of the postseason.
The Packers may not be without offensive lineman TJ Lang for long, and that’s the best possible news the team could have received regarding one of its best linemen. “I said, ‘I’m going to hit a home run off this guy (Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist)’ and he’s like, ‘Well, do it.’ There you go”.
“I will be shocked if they’re not in the World Series or winning it”, Piscotty said.
Russell was removed from Game 3 because of a tight left hamstring. Cruz started in his place.
The 21-year-old Russell had tests Tuesday morning.
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“I would think that if he had to come out of the game, I’d be hard-pressed to believe he would be ready for (Thursday)”, Maddon said Tuesday. Baez took Russell’s spot.
