(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen & Marco Stoovelaar)
 Cubs defeat Cards to advance to League Championship Series!
Nederlands
 CHICAGO, Illinois (USA) -
The Chicago Cubs became the first team to secure a spot in the League Champion Series.
On Tuesday (October 13), the Cubs won 6-4 at home vs. the St. Louis Cardinals to win their National League Division Series, 3-1.
With that, the Cubs reached the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003.
The team took part in three LCS before, but lost all three of them in 1984, 1989 and 2003.
The last time that the Cubs reached the World Series was in 1945.
In the upcoming NLCS, the Cubs will meet the winner of the series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
The Cubs open the LCS on Saturday at the site of either Los Angeles or New York.
Today's game was the 51st all-time in a Division Series for the Cardinals, passing the Atlanta Braves, with whom the team shared second place after Monday's game.
The only team with more Division Series-games is the New York Yankees with 76.
Later today, the fourth game in the National League Division Series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers was to be played.
On Wednesday, the American League Division Series continue with the fifth and deciding game to be played in both series.
The Kansas City Royals will play at home against the Houston Astros, while the Texas Rangers have traveled to Canada for the final game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Starting pitchers today were righthander Jason Hammel for the Cubs and righthander John Lackey for the Cardinals.
33-year old Jason Hammel was 10-7 this season, starting 31 games.
He struckout 172 batters in 170 2/3 inning, while walking only 40 batters.
In his career, Hammel pitched seven games against the Cardinals.
The first in 2010, the last coming in July of this year.
He then threw only the first inning and left with a left hamsting tightness.
This is the fourth postseason for Hammel, each of them with another team.
He pitched in the postseason for the Colorado Rockies in 2009, Baltimore Orioles in 2012 and Oakland Athletics last year.
36-year old John Lackey was 13-10 this season, his 13th in the Major League after making his debut in 2002.
He was the starting and winning pitcher in Game One of this series and today returned after only three days rest.
Lackey struckout 175 batters in 218 innings.
This season, the Cubs won five of their nine games at home vs. their Central Division-rival Cardinals.
On the road, the Cubs lost seven of their ten games in St. Louis.
The Cardinals are led by Mike Matheny, who this year became the first manager in Major League-history to lead a team to the postseason in his first four full seasons.
In 2012, the former catcher became the first rookie manager in Cardinals-history to lead to the team to the postseason since Eddie Dyer led the team in 1946.
Matheny's son Tate, an outfielder, participated in the international Haarlem Baseball Week-tournament last year in Haarlem (The Netherlands) with the national collegiate team of the USA.
Today's game was played in historic Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs since 1916.
The stadium was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park and changed its name to Cubs Park in 1920.
It was then renamed Wrigley Field in 1927, named after chewing gum-magnate William Wrigley, Jr., who had acquired the Cubs in 1921.
The Cubs played their first game here on April 20, 1916.
Wrigley Field is the second-oldest Major League-stadium, the oldest being Fenway Park (1912), which is the home of the Boston Red Sox.
...Today's game was played in historic...
..Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubs since 1916...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
The Cardinals started the game without veteran Yadier Molina being the catcher.
Molina suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb (catching hand) on September 20 and didn't play in the remainder of the season.
But he did play in all games so far in the NLDS for the Cardinals, wearing a special splint while catching and hitting.
In Game 3, Molina left the game after he aggravated the injury.
Molina initially was put in the starting line-up, but that was changed earlier this morning.
Tony Cruz started as catcher instead.
The Cardinals got on the board quickly off of Jason Hammel.
Matt Carpenter led off the game with a single, then Stephen Piscotty homered to make it 2-0.
In the second inning, the Cardinals got another baserunner when pitcher John Lackey singled with two outs, but he was left behind.
The Cubs then struck in the bottom of the second inning with a 4-run rally after having been retired in order in the first at bat.
Anthony Rizzo led off with a single, but was forced out on a grounder by Starlin Castro.
The latter advanced when Kyle Schwarber singled, then a strikeout accounted for the second out.
The next batter was pitcher Jason Hammel, who batted in the number eighth spot in Manager Joe Maddon line-up.
Pitchers are usually not known for their hitting and usually bat in the number ninth spot.
But Hammel made good contact and hit a single to bring in Castro with the first Chicago-run and put runners on first and second base.
With that, both starting pitchers had singled in their first at bat in this game.
Hereafter, Javier Baez, the number nine batter, drove the first pitch he saw into the stands in deep rightfield for a 3-run homerun to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead.
Baez also was a fill-in player tonight.
Baez started as short stop, as Addison Russell injured himself in the third game during a sliding while completing a triple.
In the top of the third, Jason Heyward walked for the Cardinals with two outs, but then was picked off by catcher Miguel Montero at first base to end the inning.
In the next at bat, the Cards got another runner when Jhonny Peralta led off with a walk.
Hereafter, Justin Grimm took over the pitching for Hammel.
Grimm saw Peralta being forced out, then struckout the next two batters.
The Cardinals also inserted a new pitcher, as Adam Wainwright took over for Lackey in the bottom of the fourth inning.
He retired the side, as he also did in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Travis Wood became the third Chicago-pitcher and also retired the side, striking out the first two batters he faced.
...Cubs-reliever Fernando Rodney...
...pitched for the Dominican...
...Republic vs. the Netherlands...
...in the semi-final of...
...the 2013 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The Cardinals came back in the top of the sixth inning to tie the score.
Jason Heyward led off with a single, which led to another pitching-change.
Trevor Cahill took over for Wood, but was greeted with a single by Jhonny Peralta.
Wood followed with two strikeouts, but then Heyward scored on a double down the rightfield-line by Tony Cruz, who filled in for Yadi Molina tonight.
With runners on second and third base, the Cards came alongside when pinch-hitter Brandon Moss singled.
Peralta scored, then Cruz also tried to score.
But was eliminated in a close play at the plate on a strong throw by rightfielder Jorge Soler.
Cruz was tagged on his chest, while sliding with his leg off the ground before touching the plate moments later.
Home Plate Umpire Mark Carlson was on top of the play and made a great call.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs re-took the lead off of new pitcher Kevin Siegrist when Anthony Rizzo homered with two outs.
Two more pitchers took the mound for the Cubs in the top of the seventh inning.
First, Fernando Rodney started the at bat.
He began with a strikeout, but walked Stephen Piscotty, which was followed by a flyout.
Hereafter, Clayton Richard took over for Rodney and ended the inning with a strikeout.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cubs made it a 2-run difference again when Kyle Schwarber led off with a homerun to make it a 6-4 score.
Pedro Strop became the seventh Cubs-pitcher when he took the mound in the top of the eighth.
The righthander struckout the first two batters and retired the side.
And with that, the League Championship Series came closer and closer.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs got close to addding another insurance run.
Kris Bryant led off with a triple, but the next batter struckout.
Hereafter, Manager Joe Maddon opted for a squeeze.
Austin Jackson bunted towards pitcher Trevor Rosenthal, who then was able to get the ball in time to catcher Tony Cruz, who tagged out the sliding Bryant.
Moments later, the bases got loaded when Miguel Montero walked.
But a force play then ended the inning, keeping the score at 6-4.
Closer Héctor Rondon took the mound for the Cubs in the top of the ninth inning.
The Venezuelan righthander, who earned 30 saves this season, got a grounder and a strikeout, then gave up a single to Matt Carpenter.
But Rondon followed with a strikeout to end the inning, the game and the series.
And with that, the Cubs wrote history, as it was the first time in club-history that it won a postseason-series at home!
And that's a long history, as the Cubs were a founding member of the National League in 1876!
It was time to play its signature song 'Go, Cubs, Go' again after the game.
(October 13)
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