Wait ... we've only finished one of four series and we still have two more rounds of playoffs to go? We have to learn to pace ourselves. All we had on this night was the Chicago Cubs advancing to the National League Championship Series with a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and Clayton Kershaw delivering the goods as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 3-1. Tomorrow? Two Game 5s.
1. Cubs clinch postseason series win at Wrigley Field for first time in franchise history. Think about that. No Cubs fan had ever experienced what the 42,411 -- give or take a Cardinals fan or two -- in attendance got to feel on Tuesday night: The unbridled joy of seeing your team celebrate on your home field. The Cubs had just one postseason series win in their history -- a 2003 Division Series win over the Braves, clinched in Atlanta. Their last World Series victory came in 1908, six years before Wrigley Field was built. Enjoy the party, Chicago, and remember that there are still two more rounds to go.
How did the Cubs do it? Home runs. They hit three more in Game 4: Javier Baez with a three-run shot off John Lackey, Anthony Rizzo with the go-ahead homer in the sixth off Kevin Siegrist and then Kyle Schwarber's long home run two batters later. Siegrist allowed four home runs all season in 81 appearances and then gave up three the past two games, including two to Rizzo -- both of those coming with two strikes. In Game 3, Siegrist threw him five straight fastballs; in this game, he threw three straight sliders but left the 0-2 pitch over the plate. Rizzo pulled it out to right.
Of course, maybe the biggest hit of the game came from starting pitcher Jason Hammel. With the Cardinals up 2-0 in the bottom of the second and Joe Maddon already having his bullpen warming up behind Hammel, it seemed he might pinch hit for his pitcher. But he let Hammel hit with two outs and runners at first and second. Hammel, a career .134 hitter, lined a first-pitch slider into center for an RBI single. Lackey, backing up home plate on the play, could be seen mouthing "fastball" toward the St. Louis dugout in an agitated state, perhaps unhappy with the pitch selection, either from catcher Tony Cruz or disgust with his own decision. Baez followed with his home run -- off a first-pitch fastball.
Fifteen of the Cubs’ 20 runs in the series came via the home run, the third-highest percentage ever in a playoff series (behind the 1998 Yankees and 2003 Red Sox, both in the American League Division Series). The Cubs hit 10 in the four games, continuing their offensive onslaught over the final two months: Through July, they ranked 23rd in the majors in runs per game and 23rd in wOBA. From Aug. 1 on, the Cubs ranked fifth in both categories, hitting .255/.334/.442.
Oh, here are the ages of the starting position players for the Cubs in Game 4: 29, 23, 23, 26, 25, 22, 32, 22. And that doesn’t include 21-year-old Addison Russell, sidelined with the hamstring injury he suffered in Game 3.
Hey, Chicago, what do you say? #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/HZSiM020cB
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 14, 2015Congrats @Cubs - even @whitesox fans are rooting for you!
— President Obama (@POTUS) October 14, 2015Mama we made it #WEAREGOOD #NLDS #LETSGO @Cubs pic.twitter.com/qeTUOizaGB
— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) October 14, 20152. Joe Maddon’s bullpen game. Managers often speak of doing a bullpen game in the postseason when they’re down to a third or fourth starter they might not have complete confidence in, but they almost always still try to get as many innings as possible from the starter, never able to fully commit to emptying the entire bullpen. But in the two weeks leading up to the playoffs, Maddon talked about this idea being a possibility in games not started by Jake Arrieta or Jon Lester. When Hammel walked Jhonny Peralta leading off the fourth, that was it; Maddon didn’t wait one or two batters too long like we see many managers do in the postseason. One by one, Maddon went through seven relievers, everyone except Game 2 starter Kyle Hendricks, who would have been available had the game gone into extra innings.
This makeshift bullpen -- Clayton Richard, Trevor Cahill and Fernando Rodney were all added during the season as castoffs from other teams -- continues to get the job done and struck out 13 batters while allowing two runs in six innings of work. All told, the Cardinals fanned 15 times, a franchise record for a playoff game (after tying the previous record with 13 in Game 3).
So while all the young hitters on the Cubs have everyone imagining a future of playoff trips year after year, give credit to the pitching staff that took the Cardinals off their usual postseason game of contact hitting and big hits with runners on base.
3. Clayton Kershaw. Hopefully this put will a stop to the "Clayton Kershaw can't pitch in the postseason" narrative. Pitching on three days' rest, he not only pitched a great game, but he got through seven innings. Although, admit it, Dodgers fans: When Yoenis Cespedes led off the inning with a swinging bunt single, some bad visions of the immediate future entered your heads. But Kershaw got Travis d'Arnaud on a foul pop to first, Lucas Duda on a medium-deep fly ball to left-center that had hearts missing a beat or two and then Wilmer Flores on a hard grounder directly at third baseman Justin Turner. Kershaw finished with just three hits allowed over seven innings with eight strikeouts, his one blemish another home run hit by Daniel Murphy. But Kershaw showed everyone why he's the best pitcher on the planet. So, shove it, narrative. Oh ... he also got the single in the third inning that started the Dodgers' three-run rally.
SWEET MOTHER OF GOD YESSSSSSSSSSSS
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 14, 2015If Arod is a barometer, Kershaw will still wear the postseason scarlet letter until he helps the Dodgers win a ring.
— The Captain's Blog (@williamnyy23) October 14, 20154. The bottom of the eighth. If you didn't love this inning, you don't love postseason baseball. Go watch "Real Housewives of Wrigleyville" instead. Murphy was up with two runners on and two outs against closer supreme Kenley Jansen following a controversial walk to David Wright during which he may or may not have struck out on a foul tip (catcher A.J. Ellis thought so, home-plate umpire Chris Guccione didn't agree.) With Citi Field standing and going nuts and the booming bat of Cespedes looming on deck, Murphy worked the count full before hitting a routine fly ball to right, ending the inning. Jansen worked a 1-2-3 ninth, and the series is headed back to Los Angeles for Game 5.
5. New blood. Here’s what fun about this postseason. None of the seven teams remaining have won a World Series in the wild-card era. Somebody’s fanbase is going to be deliriously happy. In fact, the Blue Jays, who had the longest playoff drought of any MLB team until making the playoffs this season, are the most recent champion:
Blue Jays: 1993 (last World Series appearance: 1993)
Dodgers: 1988 (last appearance: 1988)
Mets: 1986 (last appearance: 2000)
Royals: 1985 (last appearance: 2014)
Cubs: 1908 (last appearance: 1945)
Rangers: Never (last appearance: 2011)
Astros: Never (last appearance: 2005)
