CURSE TO 1ST
Cubs whip Kershaw, Dodgers to reach first Series since '45
CHICAGO — Holy cow, Cubs win.
The unattainable for generations of fans in this town became reality at 9:45 p.m. local time Saturday, when Aroldis Chapman got Yasiel Puig to hit into a double play. The Cubs became National League champions for the first time since 1945 with a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field.
As a rendition of “Go, Cubs, Go” blared through the ballpark, players exchanged hugs and slipped on T-shirts tto commemorate the moment. In the grandstand, the party was just beginning.
Next stop for the Cubs is the World Series, which they haven’t won since 1908. The quest to end that futility will begin in Cleveland on Tuesday with Game 1 against an Indians team that last won a World Series in 1948.
“We’re four hard wins away from what we set out to do in spring training, and that’s a long ways away,” said pitcher Jon Lester, who was named co-MVP of the series with Javier Baez.
The Cubs had whiffed in their previous six pennant-clinching attempts, losing three straight games to conclude each of the 1984 and 2003 NLCS, but never gave the Dodgers a chance on this night.
By the middle innings most of ththe 42,386 jammed into the FFriendly Confines had a comfofortable sense they were about to witness history, pushing asaside thoughts of billy goat cucurses, black cats and Steve Bartmtman.
“You stand out on that platform afterward and you’re looking at the ballpark and the fans and the ‘W’ flags everywhere, and truthfully I do think about everybody,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I think about the fans and their parents and their grandparents and great-grandparents and everything that’s been going on here for a while.”
It was redemption for the Cubs a year after largely this same group of players was swept in four games by the Mets in the NLCS.
Kyle Hendricks, who led the major leagues with a 2.13 ERA during the regular season, car- ried the load for the Cubs with a two-hitter over 7 ¹ /3 innings. Andrew Toles singled leading off the game, and the Dodgers didn’t get another hit until Josh Reddick slapped a single in the eighth.
“You felt the buzz around the stadium, definitely that energy,” Hendricks said. “Best fans in baseball, most dedicated fans and they deserve a lot more of these, that’s for sure. But at the end of the day it comes down to that group of guys in the clubhouse.”
In contrast, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was a mess, adding to his collection of October meltdowns in recent seasons.
Kershaw entered 1-2 with a 6.15 ERA in postseason elimination games in his career and pitched to that level. The lefty endured a 30-pitch first inning in which he allowed two runs, one of which was unearned, and never got into a groove.
Overall, he lasted five innings and allowed five runs, one unearned, on seven hits. The stud lefty was pitching on five days’ rest, completing his heavy workload over the last two weeks, which included a relief appearance against the Nationals in Game 5 of the NLDS.
“The first thing I saw is the Cubs hitters, they had a great game plan tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There was a couple of mistake sliders that they took advantage of. But they were running counts, they used the whole field, and there was traffic all night for Clayton.”
Anthony Rizzo all but delivered the knockout punch with a solo homer in the fifth that gave the Cubs a 5-0 lead. The blast was the Cubs’ second of the game, following Willson Contreras’ homer an inning earlier.
Dexter Fowler’s RBI single in the second extended the Cubs’ lead to 3-0. Addison Russell, who homered in each of the previous two games, doubled leading off and Fowler’s second hit in as many innings brought in the run.
Toles dropped a routine fly ball in the first for a two-base error that helped the Cubs grab an early lead. Fowler doubled to right on a high slider leading off, and Kris Bryant singled before Rizzo hit a fly to medium left that Toles didn’t watch into his glove. Fowler scored and Ben Zobrist’s ensuing sacrifice fly put the Dodgers in a 2-0 hole.