Game 5 of the NLCS about to get underway
Listen to this articleWith the series tied at two games each, Game 5 of the NLCS will decide who goes back to Chicago with the lead.
In Game 3 of the series, the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the Chicago Cubs, at the plate and from the pitcher’s mound. Like Game 2, the Dodgers held the Cubs scoreless, so entering into Game 4, Chicago had failed to put a runner across the plate in 18 straight innings. Dodgers fans were ecstatic.
Cubs manager Joe Madden, considered one of the great managerial minds in Major League Baseball and a man who always has a thoughtful — or at least entertaining — quip for reporters before and after games — win or lose, in English or Spanish — had no answers as to why his team had failed to score any runs in that long stretch.
Taking the long view, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a candidate to be Manager of the Year, was happy to have won the game and taken a lead in the series, but he knew to win the series a team needs four wins, not two.
Wednesday, the teams took the field once again, with Cubs veteran pitcher John Lackey and Dodgers rookie Julio Urías starting for their clubs. Both pitched scoreless three innings, so it looked like another pitching duel, between the old guard and the new. But then in the top of the 4th the Cubs bats began to wake up. Ben Zobrist got on base with a bunt single to lead off the inning. Then Javier Baez singled sending Zobrist to second and following that Willson Contreras singled scoring Zobrist from second. Andrew Toles, who was playing left field of Los Angeles missed his throw, which advanced the runners, putting both in scoring position.
Jason Heyward grounded out to second, sending Baez across the plate for the second Cubs run of the inning. Then Addison Russell, who has been struggling throughout the postseason, had the biggest at-bat so far when he hit a soaring homerun 401 feet to right center, scoring Contreras. The score was 4-0 Cubs, with two outs. That would be the end of Julio Urías’ postseason start.
The Cubs would add on four more runs, with Anthony Rizzo getting a 405 foot homerun with a bat borrowed from Matt Szczur. Justin Turner, possible the most consistent batter in the Dodgers’ lineup, did drive in two runs in the 5th, but they were never able to catch up to the Cubs.
Tonight is Game 5 and we will see the match up from Game 1 starting on the mound: Jon Lester for the Cubs and Kenta Maeda for the Dodgers. Chicago got to Maeda early in game 1 and went on to win that game. Will that scenario repeat itself, now that they are pitching in Dodger Stadium?
We shall see. Below is the Game 4 review by Claudia Gestro.
Photos by Claudia Gestro
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