If you want to talk about a series this post-season, the Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants matchup had everyone on the edge of their seat the past two games. The two teams battled it out yesterday and it took 13 innings to crown a winner.
All the momentum seemed to be going in the Giants direction, with the hometown crowd behind them and “even year” luck on their side. Could the young Cubs throw away their opportunity at immortality?
Not if Javier Baez had anything to do with it.
The Chicago in-fielder made some incredible plays on defense, then saved the day by putting a stamp on the 9th inning rally and giving the Cubs the lead.
With the score tied (after Willson Contreras and Ben Zobrist drove in runs to make the score 5-5), Baez stepped up to the plate and hit a single down the middle, effectively giving the Cubs the 6-5 lead. The crowd at AT&T Park was silenced.
The young squad couldn’t get anything going against Matt Moore all night, but it was a tale of two games when the Giants bullpen stepped foot on the mound.
Once Aroldis Chapman took the field, it was lights out for San Francisco.
The Giants are not used to losing elimination games, especially not on even years. They are actually the last team since the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies to not win the World Series on an even year.
This win also makes the Cubs the second team in MLB history to come back from a 3-run deficit in the 9th inning to clinch a postseason series. They will now await the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals series in the NLCS.