Contreras followed with a pinch-hit single, and the runners moved up on pinch-hitter Albert Almora Jr’s sacrifice bunt. Gonzalez tried flipping Russell’s slow roller to reliever Pedro Baez, who came over to cover first and bobbled the ball for an error. The Dodgers’ defense fell apart in the eighth. The right-hander has allowed eight earned runs in 10 2/3 innings this postseason. Maeda gave up one run and three hits over 3 2/3 innings. ![]() Fowler singled leading off the game and scored on Rizzo’s double to right two batters later. The Dodgers challenged, but the video review upheld umpire Angel Hernandez’s out call.Ĭhicago jumped on struggling Dodgers rookie Kenta Maeda from the start. In Game 4, Gonzalez was tagged out at home to end the second after diving with his left hand stretched toward the plate while catcher Willson Contreras applied a tag. The Cubs challenged and the ruling was overturned. Baez rushed in for a barehanded scoop and off-balance throw, but Gonzalez initially was called safe by first base umpire Ted Barrett. With Baez playing way out on the outfield grass in shallow right, the slow-footed Gonzalez tried to take advantage with a drag bunt leading off the inning. With the Dodgers trailing 3-1 in the seventh, Gonzalez found himself on the wrong end of a replay review for the second consecutive night. “Our confidence hasn’t wavered,” Roberts said. The veteran right-hander gave up consecutive homers in the eighth inning of Game 1, including a tiebreaking grand slam by pinch-hitter Miguel Montero. Baez stole second before Russell’s shot to left-center put the Cubs ahead on another unusually hot night at Dodger Stadium.īlanton took his second loss of the series. Russell homered on an 0-1 pitch from Blanton, who gave up a single to Baez leading off the sixth. Los Angeles tied it in the fourth on Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI groundout. “I was just kind of along for the ride.”Īnthony Rizzo’s run-scoring double gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first. “These guys won the game for us,” Lester said, nodding toward Russell and Baez. The left-hander struck out six and walked one in a slow-paced game that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes. Lester allowed one run and five hits, improving to 2-0 in three playoff starts this year. “Pumped up, not only for myself but for the team and that little cushion that Jonny had to go forward from that.” Baez had three of Chicago’s 13 hits, matching the team’s total in Game 4, when the Cubs snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak and won 10-2. “Just rounding the bases, it was pretty exciting,” Russell said. This one was a sixth-inning drive off losing pitcher Joe Blanton that gave Chicago a 3-1 lead. The second baseman made a sensational defensive play when the game was still close in the seventh, and his three-run double capped a five-run eighth that made it 8-1.Īfter busting out of his postseason slump Wednesday, Russell hit a two-run homer for the second straight game. “We’ve heard the history,” center fielder Dexter Fowler said, “but at the same time we’re trying to make history.”īudding star Javier Baez was in the middle of everything for the Cubs, a common theme this October. More than a decade later, the franchise is still chasing its first World Series championship since 1908. Of course, the Cubs were in the same favorable position 13 years ago – heading home to Wrigley with a 3-2 lead in the NLCS.īut even with ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood starting the final two games, Chicago collapsed against the Marlins in one of its most excruciating failures. ![]() “That’s a game we expect to win,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. The Cubs’ first opportunity to clinch comes Saturday night in Game 6, when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw faces major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks. “We’re not going to run away from anything. “The city of Chicago has got to be buzzing,” manager Joe Maddon said. On deck, a pair of opportunities to wrap up that elusive pennant at Wrigley Field. Jon Lester pitched seven sharp innings, Addison Russell hit a tiebreaking homer and the Cubs grabbed a 3-2 lead in the NL Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs closed in on their first World Series trip since 1945 by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on Thursday in Game 5 of their National League playoff.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |