Series Extended

What a wild and long game.  The Giants survived, just barely.  I was pretty confident the Cubs would prevail going into the eighth inning, but then the bullpen fell apart.  I cannot fault Maddon's thinking by bringing in Chapman for a two inning save, but that is going to be a problem when you use five relievers to get through two innings.  In the end, the Cubs were left with only Montgomery to get them through the rest of the game, with Edwards there to close it out should they get the lead.  Montgomery did a great job only to come a cropper in his fifth inning of work.

On the plus side, Arrieta pitched pretty well.  He got through six and left with a one-run lead.  The Cubs also managed to grind out at-bats and get Bumgarner out of the game after five innings.

On the minus side, besides the Chapman blown save, the Cubs did not produce with men on base.  They had a lot of chances, but they did not deliver.  Bryant and Fowler and sometimes Baez and Contreras are the whole offense so far and there are really some big holes in the lineup.  To my way of thinking, Rizzo has been the big disappointment.  He has been in a slump for a while now.  In the playoffs so far, he has had loads of opportunities but has not come through.  Actually, he seems anxious and undisciplined, which is really surprising for a guy who has built his career around the opposite batting approach.

Lackey pitches tonight.  He is a bulldog.  If he delivers a solid performance, the Cubs should advance without having to play a deciding game at home.