Going into last night's game against the Giants, the Cubs had a solid 2-0 lead in the NLDS. But we also knew that we needed to win those first two games so that we could handle what Game 3 would have in store for us. Namely, Madison Bumgarner. If we'd even dropped one game in Chicago, a Giants win would have put them on the brink of taking the series in Game 4 at home. But we had Jake Arrieta on our side. As the game started, both pitchers traded scoreless offerings in the 1st. Then Arrieta decided to help himself out by going yard for a 3 run homer. That was the 4th postseason home run by a pitcher in Cubs history. 2 of those have come since Saturday. The home run also ended Bumgarner's 23-inning scoreless streak in elimination games. By the time the 5th Inning came around, Bumgarner was at over 100 pitches and out of the game. Arrieta would give up two isolated runs, but left the game ahead 3-2. In the 8th, we were close to wrapping up the sweep when Aroldis Chapman came to lace up a six-out save. He got the first out, but then wound up surrendering 3 runs by the end of the inning. At the top of the 9th, the Giants were up 5-3. But then Kris Bryant came up to bat. He took the pitch, and dinged a 2-run homer over the wall. The Cubs would get no more runs though, and the 9th inning ended with the teams tied. Time for Bonus Baseball! The teams traded chances through several extra innings(David Ross missed a great chance to further cement his legend by striking out with two men on base), but the Giants finally broke through in the bottom of the 13th with a deep RBI double. That's 1:45 AM for those of you who were curious.
What this means is that the Giants stood tall and staved off elimination for one day. While the Cubs' history of heartbreak and the whole even-year thing might tempt some to worry, don't do it. Follow the lead of Joe Maddon. He's the chillest guy in all of baseball. He's probably in the visitor's clubhouse at AT&T Park filling out tonight's lineup while drinking wine and listening to smooth jazz. We have John Lackey and all his postseason expertise on the mound tonight. And it would be best to finish them off tonight. If we don't, Wrigleyville will likely be at DEFCON 1 for Thursday's Game 5. Let's win tonight and give ourselves a nice rest before the NLCS.
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