Meanwhile, In The National League, We've Got Ourselves A Series
Game 4 of the NLCS was a huge win for the Cubbies, but most importantly, it was a huge win for baseball fans. We’ve got ourselves a series.
It was looking a little scary there for a second. The Dodgers had all the momentum in the world on their side, with a chance to close this thing out at home, all while the Cubs couldn’t hit the ball out of the infield. It didn’t look good for Chicago. But Game 4 is the exact response that the Cubs needed. Had they won that game 1-0, or 2-1, something like that, then we’d still be sitting here, talking about how their offense has been a complete failure for them in this series. Instead, we saw this new Cubs lineup explode for 10 runs on 13 hits.
The top five hitters in the Cubs’ lineup combined to go 8-for-20 with a double, a homer, and 5 RBI. That home run came from Anthony Rizzo, who finally broke out of his slump, after going the entire postseason to that point without driving in a run. Rizzo went 3-for-5, scored a pair of runs, and drove in three. It was a big night for Addison Russell, too, who got moved down in the order to 8th, and responded by nearly mirroring Rizzo’s night, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
It was a must-win game for the Cubs in Game 4, as they didn’t want to put themselves in a position to need three straight wins, so they came out and dropped the hammer on the Dodgers in convincing fashion. But is it fair to say that Game 5 is also a must-win for Chicago? Now that the series is tied at two games apiece, it’s become a best of three series. In those three games, the Cubs will throw their best starter, Jon Lester, in one game, and the Dodgers will throw their best starter, Clayton Kershaw, in another. They will not match up against each other. Lester’s start is tonight in Game 5 against Kenta Maeda, a matchup that certainly favors the Cubs. They need to win this game.
Why? Because if they lose, sure, they get to go home for the last two games of the series, assuming there is a second game at Wrigley. But they have to face Kershaw in Game 6, who pitched his balls off in a 1-0 Dodgers victory in Game 2, which was also at Wrigley Field. You do not want to put yourself in a spot where you’re facing Kershaw in an elimination game. You’ve got your best on the mound tonight in LA; you go out and win that game. If you lose Game 6 to force a Game 7, then hey, you lost to the best pitcher on the planet, and you roll the dice in Game 7, where anything can happen.
There’s only one problem for the Cubs here, and that’s the fact that Jake Arrieta is in line to take the ball in Game 7. Normally, you wouldn’t dread Arrieta taking the ball for Chicago if you’re a Cubs fan, but this is a guy who threw a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts in his first ever postseason start in the National League Wild Card game last year, and since then, has a postseason ERA of 5.82 in four starts, including allowing four earned runs and two home runs to the Dodgers in Game 3 of this series. He’d also be countering Rich Hill, who blanked the Cubs over 6 innings in Game 3.
The Cubs proved in Game 4 that they can rise to the occasion and win when they know that they absolutely have to. They need to carry that same mentality into Game 5 tonight, because what lies ahead after that ain’t gonna be easy.