LOS ANGELES -- The last thing Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur thought he would be doing after Games 4 and 5 of the NLCS was speaking with reporters. Szczur isn't active on the 25-man roster though he's traveling with the team and staying ready in case there's an injury. His equipment and clothes, however, are still being used.
"It's good karma going on all around," Szczur said after the Cubs' 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on Thursday. "I didn't expect to talk to the media at all."
First there was the revelation that first baseman Anthony Rizzo was using Szczur's bats -- and having success with them. Rizzo actually used one late in Game 3 and earned himself a broken bat single. After striking out twice in Game 4, using his own bat, he returned to a Szczur model and promptly homered, later adding two more hits that night.
Then came Addison Russell's admission he forgot his "leggings" in Chicago so Szczur came to the rescue offering his. Russell also homered in Game 4 then again in Game 5. All of a sudden, others wanted in on the Szczur good-luck train.
"[Ben] Zobrist was like 'Hey Szczur what do you have for me?' " Szczur joked. "A lot of things happen for a reason."
Rizzo kept using Szczur's bat Thursday and had two more hits, and Russell wore the leggings for a second day in a row. Szczur wasn't done there as he helped Russell get ready before the game.
"He wanted to get loose in a different way and he asked me if I would throw the football with him and I said, 'No problem, I'm here for whatever,' " Szczur said.
So Szczur donated his bats to Rizzo and his leggings and time to Russell. The result was big nights for both players and two wins for the Cubs -- plus some extra attention to the man responsible for it happening.
"Its good publicity," Szczur said smiling.
