Cubs Break Out Offensively, Drill Dodgers To Even NLCS At 2-2
(CBS) Amid much external consternation and debate regarding a struggling offense, Cubs manager Joe Maddon chose to only make minor tweaks to his Game 4 lineup in the National League Championship Series.
His team rewarded his faith.
Shut out in their previous two games and with a scoreless streak that reached 21 innings early Wednesday, the Cubs' bats finally broke out in the fourth inning and then stayed hot, leading Chicago to a 10-2 shellacking of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium that evened the NLCS at 2-2. After registering a combined six hits in the past two games, the Cubs had 13 in Game 4.
Four of those came off of 20-year-old Dodgers rookie left-hander Julio Urias in a four-run fourth inning that, at least for a night, changed the course of the series. Willson Contreras had an RBI single to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead, Jason Heyward followed with an RBI groundout and then Addison Russell finally broke through. Mired in a 1-of-25 slump to start the playoffs, Russell drilled a two-run homer to center field for a 4-0 lead, demonstrably pumping his fists while rounding the bases on a day that began with many wondering if Maddon might bench him for a night. Russell went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.
"I still had the same approach," Russell said. "The only thing that changed from last week is lowering my hands a little bit.
"I really wasn't panicking, I really wasn't nervous. It was more of my teammates know what I bring, and I wanted to display that in the postseason."
An inning later, another Cub put his own slump in the rearview mirror. First baseman Anthony Rizzo hit a solo homer to right field for a 5-0 lead to break out of a 2-of-26 rut. Rizzo would go 3-of-5 on the night, adding a two-run single in a five-run sixth inning in which the Cubs stretched their lead to 10-2 with the help of an RBI single from Dexter Fowler and a sac fly from Javier Baez that also plated a second run on one of two errors by the Dodgers in the frame.
Rizzo struck out in his first two at-bats, then switched to the bat of teammate Matt Szczur -- who's not on the NLCS roster -- and got three straight hits.
"It's same size, just a different model and different name," Rizzo said. "It worked."
Lefty reliever Mike Montgomery earned the win for Chicago with two scoreless innings of relief. He entered with no outs in the fifth after right-hander John Lackey issued a pair of walks to lead off the inning. Aware of the meaning of the game, Maddon displayed the quick hook -- much to the chagrin of Lackey, who cursed as he gave the ball up to his manager.
Montgomery eventually allowed the two inherited runners to score when he deflected a Justin Turner soft chopper up the middle and the ball went slowly rolling to the usual shortstop territory that Russell had vacated in anticipating the double play. But Montgomery put a stop to any more damage, and the Cubs stayed in control through.
C.J. Edwards, Travis Wood, Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon combined for three scoreless innings of relief.
Urias took the loss, allowing four runs, all earned, in 3 2/3 innings on four hits and two walks while striking out four.
Game 5 is set for Thursday at 7:08 p.m. from Dodger Stadium. The Cubs will start left-hander Jon Lester, while the Dodgers are expected to turn to right-hander Kenta Maeda. Los Angeles hasn't made that official, though manager Dave Roberts indicated pregame that ace Clayton Kershaw wouldn't be available until Game 6.
The hometown call can be heard on 670 The Score, with pregame coverage starting at 5 p.m. Thursday.
