Cubs rally past Nats to grab series lead
Anthony Rizzo looped a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs overcame Max Scherzer’s brilliant performance to beat the Washington Nationals, 2-1, on Monday for a 2-1 lead in their National League Division Series.
Scherzer was dominant in his return from a right hamstring injury, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh. But just like in Game 1, when Chicago was held hitless into the sixth by Stephen Strasburg, Major League Baseball’s World Series champion Cubs showed off their resilience on the way to victory.
Game 4 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday.
Jake Arrieta returns from his own hamstring injury for the Cubs, while Tanner Roark gets the ball for the Nationals.
Chicago committed four errors, including two by left-fielder Kyle Schwarber on one ugly play, and Rizzo and Jason Heyward each made baserunning mistakes. UP NEXT Roark is from Wilmington, Ill., about 95 kilometres south of Chicago, and grew up rooting for the Cubs. The 31-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA in five career games at Wrigley Field.
Arrieta hasn’t pitched in a game since he lasted just three innings in a loss at St. Louis on Sept. 26. But he said he is 100 per cent for his eighth career playoff start. “From this point on, it seems like it’s going to be a non-issue for us now,” he said.