‘WIN’DY CITY!
Cubs advance to first 5 World Series since 194
Anthony Rizzo helped propel Chicago to a 5-0 Game 6 win over L.A. in the NLCS, securing the Cubs' first trip to the World Series since 1945, with eyes on their first title since 1908. They will face an Indians team that hasn't won it all since 1948.
CHICAGO — The Cubs have considered a possible high-octane addition to their World Series roster
Kyle Schwarber, who has been out since the first week of the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair torn knee ligaments, is a possibility to rejoin the Cubs when they face the Indians beginning Tuesday, according to manager Joe Maddon.
NLCS NOTES
“We’re going to explore that,” Maddon said Saturday before the Cubs won their first NL pennant since 1945 with a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field. “It’s up to us to get to the next moment in order to see if that can actually work out or not.”
Schwarber, who suffered the injury after a collision with center fielder Dexter Fowler in the third game of the regular season, has been taking batting practice recently.
He joined the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League on Saturday and was the designated hitter, going 0-for-3 with a walk against the Salt River Rafters.
He conceivably could fill the DH role in Cleveland in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7. But he likely would not be a possibility to play the field.
“He’s hit the ball well,” Maddon said. “The movement kind of stuff, running and change of direction, has all gone well. We’re just trying to explore all the possibilities.”
The 23-year-old Schwarber had an .842 OPS in 69 games for the Cubs as a rookie in 2015.
The Cubs’ Jason Heyward started Game 6 on the bench, with
Albert Almora Jr. inserted into the lineup in right field (he went 0-for-3). Heyward, who has gone 2-for-30 (.067) this postseason with one RBI, came in to play right in the ninth inning as Almora shifted to left in place of Ben Zobrist.
“It’s never easy,” Maddon said, when asked about benching Heyward, who signed an eight-year contract worth $184 million with the team last winter. “I texted him advance, which we normally do. I’m certain he’s not happy with the whole thing. I wouldn’t be if I was him, either.”
The Cubs scored 31 runs in the series despite the fact they were shut out twice. According to the Elias Sports Bureau the most runs scored by a team that was shutout at least twice in a postseason series was 32, by the Tigers in the 1945 World Series against the Cubs.