The Cubs pounded the Dodgers 8-4 Thursday night to bring the NLCS back to Wrigley Field for a potential elimination games Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday night. Lester was impressive in his start, going seven tense innings. Addison Russell was once again the batting hero.
The game was a tense and closely contested affair through seven innings with the Cubs on top 3-1 thanks to Lester and Russell. They broke it open with an extended rally in the top of the eighth when, barely hitting it out of the infield, the Cubs parlayed a series of bunts, infield singles, and Dodger errors into two runs. With the bases loaded, Baez sealed the game with a three-run double.
I have to say that the Dodgers are capable of some really awful baseball, which they proved Wednesday and Thursday nights. I don't care how good Kershaw is, with these guys behind him, defeat is only a bobble away.
As to the Saturday lineup. Hendricks pitches. I sincerely hope they bench Heyward again. Otherwise things look pretty good. It's going to be pretty cold at game time if tonight is any harbinger.
Incidentally, I really hope Maddon ditches any plans he might have to extend Chapman to a two inning save, especially if they have a significant lead. I remember a number of outings Chapman had with the Reds where he blew big leads or else made things pretty uncomfortable for his team. Chapman is a dominant force when he is used correctly, which is to say, when he starts the ninth inning with no one on base in a close game. Otherwise, he can be a bit of an adventure.
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