TAKING ANOTHER CRACK AT THIS
Cubs’ dormant bats wake up dramatically, driving home message that series isn’t over
LOS ANGELES — If this is the way it’s going to be the rest of the way, Cubs fans are in for the postseason thrill ride of their lives. Or in need of prescription- strength Dramamine by Sunday.
A 10- 2 victory by the Cubs at Dodger Stadium in Game 4 Wednesday night evened the National League Championship Series at two games apiece, assuring a return to Wrigley Field for a Game 6 on Saturday night.
But considering the way the series has played out so far — not to mention the drama surrounding the looming Clayton Kershaw — that’s the only thing that seems remotely assured heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Thursday night.
On this night, it was all Cubs from the fourth inning on against rookie left- hander Julio Urias and the Dodgers bullpen.
“It’s huge,” said Addison Russell, whose two- run homer in the fourth capped a four- run inning after 21 consecutive scoreless innings through Wednesday’s third. “Especially [ Anthony] Rizzo and I with pretty big nights. And just overall, everyone — I mean, 13 hits is huge in the playoffs.”
Russell had been 1- for- 25 this postseason before the homer.
Rizzo, borrowing a move — and a bat — he used several times down the stretch and even Tuesday night, took teammate Matt Szczur’s same- size, different- model lumber after striking out in his first two at- bats Wednesday. The result: three hits and three RBI the rest of the night, including a homer leading off the fifth in his first turn with the bat.
“I’m just trying to help the team any way I can,” said Szczur, who’s traveling with the team but not on the playoff roster. Said Rizzo: “It worked.” He was 2- for- 28 with two singles and nine strikeouts until then.
The outburst was the biggest high of the Cubs’ playoff run since Miguel Montero’s eighth- inning pinch grand slam for the victory in Game 1.
After the Cubs were shut out the next two games — the first backto- back shutouts of their lineup since 2014 — Twitter was burning up with lineup ideas, benching suggestions and calls for hitting coaches’ heads.
The Cubs’ counterpunch started in the fourth inning Wednesday as a snowball rolling downhill. A lineup hitting just .185 this postseason and averaging three runs a game got started on Ben Zobrist’s bunt toward third that died on the grass for a leadoff single without a throw. Then came a bloop to left by Javy Baez, followed by a soft liner to left from Willson Contreras, and the Cubs had their first run since Saturday.
Jason Heyward drove in a run with a grounder, followed by Russell’s homer.
“It was fun to see our guys swing the bats well — a fun game to be a part of,” said starter John Lackey, who was pulled with a 5- 0 lead after walking the first two batters in the fifth. He was angry enough to be seen muttering an expletive as manager Joe Maddon emerged from the dugout to get him.
“Up five runs, yeah,” he said. “I was pretty surprised.” As angry as he seemed? “It was a great team win,” he said. “Glad to see our offense [ break out].”
Someone followed up with a question about Maddon having joked in the past that he feared taking Lackey out of games. Lackey cut the question off midsentence.
“There’s not joking about that,” he snapped. “How I feel personally is irrelevant right now. Great team
win. Good to see our guys swing the bats well.” But these are the games Lackey was signed to pitch. He’s sixth alltime with 22 postseason starts. “You can keep pushing,” he said. “I’m not going to tell you want.” As the series turned to Thursday, the whether big question involved Game 5, the Dodgers would bring ace Kers shaw back on short rest for Game 5, which presumably would give them the option of using him out of the bullpen in a Game 7. But manager Dave Roberts insisted his starter in the Game 1 loss, Kenta Maeda, would start Thursday.