SAN FRANCISCO -- Kris Bryant tossed his glove high in the air, Jake Arrieta jumped over the dugout railing and the rest of the Chicago Cubs rushed to join the celebration.
Pure revelry and a sigh of relief, all at once.
World Series favorites since Opening Day, the Cubs took another step in their championship chase Tuesday night by rallying for four runs in the ninth inning of Game 4 to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 and win their National League Division Series.
"You could see it coming. You could see little signs. We've done it before, and the guys, we don't quit," Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler said. "It's a little more special doing it here. They for sure were thinking that they won it. But we play 27 outs and we don't give up until we win."
Javier Baez's tiebreaking single capped the comeback against a beleaguered bullpen that sabotaged the Giants one last time.
Four wins from their first pennant since 1945, the Cubs will open the NL Championship Series on Saturday at Wrigley Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers or Washington Nationals. That matchup is tied 2-all heading into the deciding Game 5 on Thursday.
Before that, the team with the best regular-season record (103-58) in the majors this year will get a few days of rest. Chicago was swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS last year and is still seeking its first World Series title since 1908.
"Expectations is a good word. Because normally it means that you have something good attached to it at the other side," manager Joe Maddon said.
And after finishing off the resilient Giants, the Cubs should have their rotation all lined up for the NLCS.
"Pressure, expectations -- I want our guys to thrive on those two words for the years to come. I want the organization to. In the end, that means there's a lot expected of you. Good. There should be. We should all have a lot expected of us," Maddon added. "So all those things I want to have us channel in a positive direction."
Held to two hits over eight innings by Matt Moore, the Cubs trailed 5-2 heading to the ninth.
No matter. One big rally ended San Francisco's 10-game winning streak when facing postseason elimination.
Pinch hitter Willson Contreras tied it with a two-run single with none out. Baez singled in the go-ahead run two batters later, and the Cubs capitalized on Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford's second costly error and more untimely blunders by the Giants' once-reliable relief staff.
One day after getting tagged in the eighth inning, Aroldis Chapman closed this one out by striking out the side in order. When he set down Brandon Belt to end it, Chapman's teammates rushed to the mound to hug him and begin their celebration.
Maddon has his confident, power-hitting Cubs on an October roll. They already beat All-Star Johnny Cueto and ex-Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, then waited until Moore's stellar outing was done to pounce.
"With this team, the big thing is we never give up, we never quit," said lefty Jon Lester, who figures to start the NLCS opener. "We always feel like we have a chance, whether it's the first inning or the ninth inning."
Soon-to-retire David Ross homered to start the third, hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and threw out Denard Span trying to steal.
Downright unflappable for years in these pressure-packed situations, the Giants won World Series championships in 2010, '12 and '14. This was the club's first postseason series defeat in the past 12.
"We don't think we're going to win the World Series every even year. I mean, it took 50-something years to get one here," quipped manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen management was scrutinized throughout a disappointing second half.
The orange towel-waving sellout crowd of 43,166, perhaps spoiled this decade by the every-other-year title success, had been counting on a few more games by the bay this October.
Moore, acquired from Tampa Bay at the Aug. 1 trade deadline for games of this magnitude, struck out 10 as his former Rays manager -- Maddon -- watched from the other dugout.
Long after Cubs starter John Lackey's night was done with just four innings, Hector Rondon pitched the eighth for the win.
WHAT CURSE?
Lester doesn't buy all the superstition surrounding Chicago's championship drought.
"Nobody really cares in there about a curse or a goat or anything else," he said. "If we make a mistake, we're not going to blame it on a curse or anything else like that. We're going to blame it on ourselves and be accountable for it and move on to the next play or the next moment. ... We've got too many young guys in there that don't even know what that stuff is, you know what I mean? So, it's almost better to play naive and just go out and worry about us, worry about the Cubs and not anything else in the past or, like I said, any animals."
POWER PITCHERS
Two pitchers homered for the Cubs in the series: Arrieta on Monday and reliever Travis Wood in Game 2. The 1924 New York Giants were the only other team to have two pitchers go deep in a postseason series, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
"That's pretty incredible, isn't it?" Maddon said.
GIANTS INJURIES
Left fielder Angel Pagan missed his second straight start with back spasms, and third baseman Eduardo Nunez's strained right hamstring is still slow to heal, leaving the Giants to contemplate replacing one on the roster. But no move was made before the game.
CRAWFORD'S MISCUES
The shortstop was the first Giants player to commit two errors in a postseason game since Don Mueller on Sept. 29, 1954, in Game 1 of the World Series.
Chicago Cubs
Pure revelry and a sigh of relief, all at once.
World Series favorites since Opening Day, the Cubs took another step in their championship chase Tuesday night by rallying for four runs in the ninth inning of Game 4 to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 and win their National League Division Series.
"You could see it coming. You could see little signs. We've done it before, and the guys, we don't quit," Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler said. "It's a little more special doing it here. They for sure were thinking that they won it. But we play 27 outs and we don't give up until we win."
Javier Baez's tiebreaking single capped the comeback against a beleaguered bullpen that sabotaged the Giants one last time.
Four wins from their first pennant since 1945, the Cubs will open the NL Championship Series on Saturday at Wrigley Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers or Washington Nationals. That matchup is tied 2-all heading into the deciding Game 5 on Thursday.
Before that, the team with the best regular-season record (103-58) in the majors this year will get a few days of rest. Chicago was swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS last year and is still seeking its first World Series title since 1908.
"Expectations is a good word. Because normally it means that you have something good attached to it at the other side," manager Joe Maddon said.
And after finishing off the resilient Giants, the Cubs should have their rotation all lined up for the NLCS.
"Pressure, expectations -- I want our guys to thrive on those two words for the years to come. I want the organization to. In the end, that means there's a lot expected of you. Good. There should be. We should all have a lot expected of us," Maddon added. "So all those things I want to have us channel in a positive direction."
Held to two hits over eight innings by Matt Moore, the Cubs trailed 5-2 heading to the ninth.
No matter. One big rally ended San Francisco's 10-game winning streak when facing postseason elimination.
Pinch hitter Willson Contreras tied it with a two-run single with none out. Baez singled in the go-ahead run two batters later, and the Cubs capitalized on Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford's second costly error and more untimely blunders by the Giants' once-reliable relief staff.
One day after getting tagged in the eighth inning, Aroldis Chapman closed this one out by striking out the side in order. When he set down Brandon Belt to end it, Chapman's teammates rushed to the mound to hug him and begin their celebration.
Maddon has his confident, power-hitting Cubs on an October roll. They already beat All-Star Johnny Cueto and ex-Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, then waited until Moore's stellar outing was done to pounce.
"With this team, the big thing is we never give up, we never quit," said lefty Jon Lester, who figures to start the NLCS opener. "We always feel like we have a chance, whether it's the first inning or the ninth inning."
Soon-to-retire David Ross homered to start the third, hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and threw out Denard Span trying to steal.
Downright unflappable for years in these pressure-packed situations, the Giants won World Series championships in 2010, '12 and '14. This was the club's first postseason series defeat in the past 12.
"We don't think we're going to win the World Series every even year. I mean, it took 50-something years to get one here," quipped manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen management was scrutinized throughout a disappointing second half.
The orange towel-waving sellout crowd of 43,166, perhaps spoiled this decade by the every-other-year title success, had been counting on a few more games by the bay this October.
Moore, acquired from Tampa Bay at the Aug. 1 trade deadline for games of this magnitude, struck out 10 as his former Rays manager -- Maddon -- watched from the other dugout.
Long after Cubs starter John Lackey's night was done with just four innings, Hector Rondon pitched the eighth for the win.
WHAT CURSE?
Lester doesn't buy all the superstition surrounding Chicago's championship drought.
"Nobody really cares in there about a curse or a goat or anything else," he said. "If we make a mistake, we're not going to blame it on a curse or anything else like that. We're going to blame it on ourselves and be accountable for it and move on to the next play or the next moment. ... We've got too many young guys in there that don't even know what that stuff is, you know what I mean? So, it's almost better to play naive and just go out and worry about us, worry about the Cubs and not anything else in the past or, like I said, any animals."
POWER PITCHERS
Two pitchers homered for the Cubs in the series: Arrieta on Monday and reliever Travis Wood in Game 2. The 1924 New York Giants were the only other team to have two pitchers go deep in a postseason series, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
"That's pretty incredible, isn't it?" Maddon said.
GIANTS INJURIES
Left fielder Angel Pagan missed his second straight start with back spasms, and third baseman Eduardo Nunez's strained right hamstring is still slow to heal, leaving the Giants to contemplate replacing one on the roster. But no move was made before the game.
CRAWFORD'S MISCUES
The shortstop was the first Giants player to commit two errors in a postseason game since Don Mueller on Sept. 29, 1954, in Game 1 of the World Series.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Chicago - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Fowler struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Bryant struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Rizzo walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Zobrist grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| John Lackey pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Span doubled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Belt flied out to center, Span to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Posey hit sacrifice fly to right, Span scored. | 0 | 1 |
| Pence struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Russell flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| Heyward popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Báez flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| John Lackey pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Crawford struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Gillaspie reached on infield single to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Panik singled to left, Gillaspie to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Blanco struck out looking. | 0 | 1 |
| Moore grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Ross homered to left (382 feet). | 1 | 1 |
| Lackey struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Fowler grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 1 |
| Bryant struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| John Lackey pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Span reached on infield single to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Belt lined out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| Span caught stealing second, catcher to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Posey walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Pence flied out to center. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Rizzo singled to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Zobrist struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Russell grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Rizzo out at second. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| John Lackey pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Crawford struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Gillaspie singled to right. | 1 | 1 |
| Panik singled to right, Gillaspie to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Blanco walked, Panik to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Moore singled to right, Gillaspie scored, Panik to third, Blanco to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Span grounded into fielder's choice to first, Panik scored, Moore out at second, Blanco to third. | 1 | 3 |
| Belt lined out to center. | 1 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Heyward lined out to center. | 1 | 3 |
| Báez safe at third on throwing error by shortstop Crawford. | 1 | 3 |
| Ross hit sacrifice fly to right, Báez scored. | 2 | 3 |
| Almora Jr. hit for Lackey. | 2 | 3 |
| Almora Jr. struck out swinging. | 2 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Justin Grimm pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Grimm relieved Lackey. | 2 | 3 |
| Posey grounded out to pitcher. | 2 | 3 |
| Pence singled to center. | 2 | 3 |
| Crawford doubled to right center, Pence to third. | 2 | 3 |
| Wood relieved Grimm. | 2 | 3 |
| Gillaspie singled to center, Pence scored, Crawford to third. | 2 | 4 |
| Panik hit sacrifice fly to left, Crawford scored. | 2 | 5 |
| Blanco grounded into fielder's choice to third, Gillaspie out at second. | 2 | 5 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Fowler walked. | 2 | 5 |
| Bryant reached first on force out to right, Fowler out at second. | 2 | 5 |
| Rizzo struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Zobrist grounded into fielder's choice to third, Bryant out at second. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Travis Wood pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Moore struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Span struck out looking. | 2 | 5 |
| Belt lined out to left. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Russell popped out to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Heyward struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Báez grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Carl Edwards pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Edwards Jr. relieved Wood. | 2 | 5 |
| Posey grounded out to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Pence grounded out to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Crawford grounded out to catcher. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Matt Moore pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Ross struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Soler hit for Edwards Jr.. | 2 | 5 |
| Soler flied out to left. | 2 | 5 |
| Fowler struck out looking. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Hector Rondon pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Rondón relieved Edwards Jr.. | 2 | 5 |
| Heyward in center field. | 2 | 5 |
| Soler in right field. | 2 | 5 |
| Gillaspie singled to right center. | 2 | 5 |
| Panik struck out looking. | 2 | 5 |
| Blanco grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Gillaspie out at second. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Derek Law pitching for San Francisco | CHC | SF |
| Law relieved Moore. | 2 | 5 |
| Bryant singled to left center. | 2 | 5 |
| López relieved Law. | 2 | 5 |
| Rizzo walked, Bryant to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Romo relieved López. | 2 | 5 |
| Zobrist doubled to deep right, Bryant scored, Rizzo to third. | 3 | 5 |
| Coghlan hit for Russell. | 3 | 5 |
| Smith relieved Romo. | 3 | 5 |
| Contreras hit for Coghlan. | 3 | 5 |
| Contreras singled to center, Rizzo and Zobrist scored. | 5 | 5 |
| Heyward bunted into fielder's choice to pitcher, Contreras out at second, Heyward to second on throwing error by shortstop Crawford. | 5 | 5 |
| Strickland relieved Smith. | 5 | 5 |
| Hernández in left field. | 5 | 5 |
| Báez singled to center, Heyward scored. | 6 | 5 |
| Ross grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Báez out at second. | 6 | 5 |
| 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Aroldis Chapman pitching for Chicago | CHC | SF |
| Chapman relieved Rondón. | 6 | 5 |
| Zobrist at second base. | 6 | 5 |
| Contreras in left field. | 6 | 5 |
| Báez at shortstop. | 6 | 5 |
| Hernández struck out swinging. | 6 | 5 |
| Span struck out swinging. | 6 | 5 |
| Belt struck out swinging. | 6 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Chicago Cubs
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fowler CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | .133 | .235 | .200 |
Rondón P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Chapman P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Bryant 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | .375 | .412 | .688 |
| Rizzo 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | .067 | .176 | .067 |
| Zobrist LF-2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .188 | .188 | .313 |
| Russell SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .067 | .125 | .067 |
c-Coghlan PH
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
d-Contreras PH-LF
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .667 | .714 | .667 |
| Heyward RF-CF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .083 | .083 | .167 |
| Báez 2B-SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .375 | .412 | .563 |
| Ross C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .167 | .143 | .667 |
| Lackey P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Almora Jr. PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Grimm P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Wood P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 4.000 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
b-Soler PH-RF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .200 | .000 |
| Totals | 31 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 144 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for J Lackey in the 5th b-flied out to left for C Edwards Jr. in the 8th c-hit for A Russell in the 9th d-singled to center for C Coghlan in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Zobrist (2, Romo) HR: Ross (1, 3rd inning off Moore 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Ross 2 (2), Zobrist (2), Contreras 2 (2), Báez (2) SF: Ross GIDP: Russell, Ross Cubs RISP: 3-3 (Báez 1-1, Zobrist 1-1, Contreras 1-1) Team LOB: 2 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Russell-Báez-Rizzo). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA |
| Attendance | 43,166 (103% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:25 |
| Weather | 63 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 11 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Marvin Hudson, First Base - John Hirschbeck, Second Base - Mike Muchlinski, Third Base - Todd Tichenor, Left Field - Alan Porter, Right Field - Larry Vanover |
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