Home Baseball Cubs ties up NLDS after five-run second inning

Cubs ties up NLDS after five-run second inning

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After kicking off the National League Divisional Series by beating the rival Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Friday night, the St. Louis Cardinals looked to head to Wrigley Field on Monday up 2-0 in the series. With Chicago’s best pitcher, Jake Arrieta, slated to start the third game in the series, Chicago knew they needed to win.

And they made sure of it.

The Cubs won their first NLDS game since 2003 when they defeated the Cardinals 6-3 on Saturday night.

Starting the game on the mound for both teams were Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43 in the 2015 regular season), and Kyle Hendricks (8-7, 3.95 in the 2015 regular season). Matt Carpenter kicked things off right away in the bottom of the first with a solo shot to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

But in the top of the second inning, the meltdown began. Starlin Castro started it off with a single to center field. Austin Jackson grounded into a fielder’s choice, and after a subsequent throwing error by Kolten Wong, Jackson advanced to second base. He later stole third. Miguel Montero was issued a walk next, bringing up Hendricks. And Hendricks laid down a squeeze play bunt scoring Jackson, and putting runners on second and third due to a throwing error by Garcia.

The inning didn’t end there, as Addison Russell laid down a squeeze play bunt of his own, scoring another run, and giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Dexter Fowler scored Hendricks to make it a 3-1 game, but the big moment which essentially became the clincher of the game was when Jorge Soler hit a two-run shot in center field to make it 5-1 Cubs.

Garcia was knocked out of the game with the final line of: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks.

It was later released that he had a stomach virus prior to the game, but manager Mike Matheny ensured he would have been taken out of the game regardless.

Chicago later scored another run to make it 6-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cardinals put two runs on the board, thanks to solo home runs from Wong and Randal Grichuk, cutting the deficit to 6-3. However, that turned out to be the final score of the ballgame, as the Cubs tied the series up.

Despite the loss, one bright moment on the mound for the Cardinals occurred in the seventh inning, when Adam Wainwright made his return to Busch Stadium, pitching in relief at home for the first time since he closed out the 2006 World Series. He did not allow a single base-runner nor run while on the mound.

On Monday, the NLDS heads to Wrigley Field, and it will be a big match-up, as Michael Wacha gets the start for the Cardinals, and Arrieta gets the start for the Cubs.

 

 

 

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

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