On the biggest stage for the Chicago Cubs since 2008, a rookie making his MLB postseason debut provided the necessary jolt of offense in the NL Wild Card Game to advance the team to the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Outfielder Kyle Schwarber, although he was taken out of the game in the seventh inning, finished 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the Cubs' 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Schwarber and leadoff man Dexter Fowler (3-for-4 with three runs scored and a home run) provided all of the production for Chicago in an unlikely turn of events.
The rest of the Cubs' offense finished 2-for-25 with two walks.
As for the highly anticipated pitcher's duel, Cubs' right-hander Jake Arrieta was the one who provided the customary performance of the night. He tossed a complete game shutout and gave up just four hits and struck out 11. On the other hand, Pirates' right-hander Gerrit Cole allowed four earned runs on six hits and one walk over five innings after a regular season in which he dominated Chicago (2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in four starts).
Cole struggled a bit with his control in the first inning, which got the Cubs off to a fast start. Fowler led the game off with a single, stole second base and then scored on a single from Schwarber and Chicago never looked back.
The Cubs turned a couple of crucial double plays late in the game to get Arrieta out of trouble, with the most notable one coming in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, cleanup hitter Starling Marte ripped a hard grounder toward shortstop Addison Russell. The rookie knocked it down to his left and flipped it to second baseman Starlin Castro, who hosed it to first to complete the 6-4-3 double play (and best defensive play of the night).
Aside from that, the only other high-pressure situation came in the seventh inning when the benches cleared after Pirates' reliever Tony Watson hit Arrieta with a pitch (Arrieta had plunked two batters earlier in the game and Watson's move was perhaps retaliation). Pirates' infielder Sean Rodriguez was ejected from the game after he seemingly threw a punch at Cubs' catcher David Ross.
Cubs' manager Joe Maddon really prepared his team well for this one-game playoff, while Pirates' skipper Clint Hurdle still had no answer for Arrieta, who has absolutely owned the Pirates this year (3-1 with a 0.75 ERA in five regular season starts).
And now, after their most successful season since 1991, the Pirates will be going home with 98 games and a second-place finish in the NL Central behind the MLB's top club, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Chicago will now look to take down the Cardinals, who have defeated the Cubs in 11 of their 19 matchups this season. Maddon will be tasked with leading the franchise to their first NLDS win since 2003 - the year Steve Bartman interfered with Moises Alou in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Florida Marlins.
