The Chicago Cubs are one win away from their first NLCS since 2003 following a 8-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the NLDS on Monday night.
Chicago jumped on Michael Wacha early, and didn’t let up. In the first inning, the Cubs put two men on before Anthony Rizzo lined into a double play to end the threat. In the second, the molten Kyle Schwarber homered to put the Cubs on top 1-0.
In the fourth, the Cardinals struck back against Jake Arrieta. Arrieta walked Stephen Piscotty and Matt Holliday to start the inning, and after striking out Jason Heyward, Arrieta allowed an RBI double to Jhonny Peralta to tie the game at one. Tommy Pham followed up with a ground out to bring in Holliday and put the Cardinals in front 2-1.
That lead didn’t even last until the end of the fourth, because the polarizing Starlin Castro homered with one out in the bottom half of the frame to notch the contest at two. Addison Russell would triple two batters later and was removed with a tight hamstring, an injury that could end up causing issues later in the Postseason for Chicago.
The fifth would be Wacha’s undoing. After getting Dexter Fowler to fly out, Jorge Soler singled, and Kris Bryant launched a two-run homer to put the Cubs back on top 4-2. That would chase Wacha for the evening, and Anthony Rizzo welcomed new Cardinals pitcher Kevin Siegrist to the mound with a solo homer of his own.
In the sixth, the Cardinals fought back again. Holliday led off with a single off of Arrieta, and Heyward followed up with a two-run homer to cut the lead back to one. Arrieta struck out Peralta and Pham, plunked pitch hitter Brandon Moss, and was pulled from the game after 5 2/3 innings – his shortest outing in nearly four months. Clayton Richard would get out of the jam for Chicago without allowing any more damage.
Naturally, the Cubs answered the Cardinals’ runs with more of their own. Seth Maness took over from Kevin Siegrist and allowed a leadoff single to Chris Coghlan. After Fowler bunted Coghlan over, Adam Wainwright replaced Maness and immediately allowed a two-run dinger to Soler, increasing the deficit to three runs once again.
In the seventh, the Cardinals had a chance to tie the game. After Trevor Cahill struck out Randal Grichuk and Matt Carpenter to start the inning, he allowed a Piscotty single and Holliday reached on a throwing error by Javier Baez, replacing Russell at short. That brought up Heyward once again, but new pitcher Travis Wood got Heyward to fly out.
The bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth were relatively uneventful (minus Castro being called out after being hit on the basepaths by a batted ball). But in the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs set a major league record when Fowler homered. It was the sixth dinger of the night for Chicago, the most-ever for one team in a playoff game.
But because this is the Cubs, it’s not easy. With one out in the ninth, Grichuk reached on an infield single to Baez, who couldn’t handle his hard hit ball in the hole. Carpenter flied out for the second out, but Piscotty then launched a two-run homer, cutting the Cubs lead to 8-6. With Heyward on deck, Holliday grounded out to Castro at second to end the game and send the Cubs faithful homer with a victory.
The Cardinals can’t feel great about this loss by any stretch of the imagination. They did what they needed to do against Arrieta, rocking him for four runs in 5 2/3 innings, and couldn’t come away with a win because their own pitching staff couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. Every Cardinals pitcher allowed at least one run, and only Maness (who threw just five pitches and faced two batters) didn’t allow a homer.
On the other hand, the Cubs bullpen didn’t walk a hitter, and allowed just one hit and zero runs until Rondon’s performance in the ninth. They had a fantastic game in relief of a subpar (for him, at least) Arrieta, and really picked up their ace when he wasn’t at his best.
Soler had a phenomenal game for the Cubs, going 2/2 with a homer, two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. In these playoffs, he’s 4/4 with a double, two homers, and five walks, reaching base every time he’s come to the plate. Bryant and Rizzo also woke up from their series-long doldrums, as Bryant went 2/5 with a homer and Rizzo went 1/4 with a homer. For St. Louis, Heyward and Piscotty both went 2/4 with a homer apiece, but the team as a whole went just 2/10 with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals couldn’t cash in when they needed to, despite getting opportunities.
Game 4 will be on Tuesday night in Chicago, and first pitch is scheduled for 4:37 in the afternoon. Jason Hammel will take the hill for the Cubs, while the Cardinals are sending out Game 1 starter John Lackey on three days rest. Lackey shut down the Cubs in Game 1, and will need to do something similar to keep the Cardinals’ season alive.
