October 21, 2016 Daily Herald Cubs are one win from the World Series By Bruce Miles LOS ANGELES -- So much has been made of Jon Lester's contract with the Chicago Cubs. But when it has counted, Lester has been money. Lester showed again Thursday night why he's among the leading candidates for the Cy Young Award. While his team struggled for runs and left men on base early, Lester was holding the Los Angeles Dodgers at bay in Game 5 of the National League championship series. Shortstop Addison Russell finally gave the Cubs' offense the breakthrough it needed with his second 2-run homer in two nights, this one coming in the sixth inning off reliever Joe Blanton to break a 1-1 tie. The Cubs added on late and rode away with an 8-4 victory and a three-games-to-two lead in the best-of-seven series. A victory in Saturday night's Game 6 will put the Cubs into their first World Series since 1945. For that, give credit to Lester for holding the fort. "That's (what) the really great starting pitching does," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "They permit you to get into the game. You might fail a couple times early. But they keep the score tight, and then you can do something about it." Finishing off the Dodgers will be no easy task. Ace L.A. lefty Clayton Kershaw will take the mound against the Cubs Saturday. He beat the Cubs 1-0 in Game 2. But the Cubs will have the home-field advantage. "Obviously, it feels good," Maddon said. "You'd much rather go home under those circumstances than any other, and you want to get it done as quickly as possible. It's going to be a formidable event. Our guys will be absolutely ready for the moment." Nothing got done quickly Thursday, as the Cubs and Dodgers slogged through a 4-hour, 16-minute nine-inning game. The Cubs scored a run in the first as Dexter Fowler led off with a single. One out later, he came home on a double by Anthony Rizzo. The Dodgers tied it in the fourth. All the while their baserunners tried to rattle Lester by taking big leads, knowing his problems throwing to the bases. Their batters often bluffed bunts. Lester stayed cool when it mattered but displayed his usual emotion after getting big outs. That's what the Cubs envisioned when they signed him to a six-year, $155 million contract before last season. "I just get fired up getting outs," said Lester, a 19-game winner in the regular season. "I don't care how it happens … I play this game with emotion, and if it rubs people the wrong way, oh well."

He has seen teams try to rattle him all year. It didn't work, as he went 7 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball. He won Game 1 of the division series against the Giants and pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball in the NLCS opener, getting a no-decision. "It is what it is," he said. "I'd prefer Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson to try to bunt. They're home run guys. They hit 30 homers, so I'd rather them put the ball on the ground and let these guys try to field it and take my chances that way." A couple of "these guys" flanked Lester for the postgame media session. Russell broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a booming drive to center field. Once again, Russell was exuberant going around the bases. "Pumped up," he said. "Not only for myself, but for the team and that little cushion that Jonny had to go forward from that, and I felt really good." The Cubs added on with 5 insurance runs in the eighth. Baez, perhaps the team MVP for the entire postseason, capped the inning with a 3-run double to right. He put on the brakes hard rounding second base and limped a bit, but said he was OK. "I'm good," he said. "I just think I overran (the base) a little bit. I saw (Yasiel) Puig bobble the ball, and I was trying to go three. I was just trying to run a little harder than I do. I felt something in my ankle, but I'm fine. One hundred percent." -- Daily Herald Maddon: Cubs' game 4 blowout 'picked us up' By Bruce Miles LOS ANGELES -- Baseball people will tell you momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher, but there's no doubt Wednesday night's 10-2 victory over the Dodgers lightened the mood around the Chicago Cubs. The victory tied the National League championship series at two games apiece, meaning the series will be coming back to Wrigley Field. "It definitely picked us up," manager Joe Maddon said Thursday. "The offense definitely created a stir within the dugout. Whenever you're not hitting, it always gives you the appearance of being lethargic which is not true. It's just you're not hitting. So finally you start hitting and all of a sudden the vibe picks up, and then you go out and play like crazy for nine innings and you do a nice job and you win. "The positive side, normally, you get a little bit of a bump from that, especially this time of the year." Treading lightly on Lackey: Wednesday night's starting pitcher, John Lackey, was not happy with being taking out of Game 4 in the fifth inning. Lackey walked the first two batters of the inning with the Cubs holding a 5-0 lead. Maddon didn't want to let that lead get away, so he turned to lefty Mike Montgomery. Maddon said he knew Lackey wasn't going to be happy. "I took a deep breath," Maddon said. "I walked around the decal (NLCS logo on the field) again. I could see that he was dropping that line, 'You got to be … kidding me.' I've seen him do that before, to other managers, too. I was anticipating it and expecting it. But you've still got to do what you've got to do." Good to go:

Maddon said reliever Carl Edwards Jr. was OK Thursday. He came out of Wednesday's game with tightness in his left hamstring. "It was diagnosed as a cramp," Maddon said. "It feels really good today. PJ (athletic trainer Mainville) was working and said there is really nothing there right now, which there never is. It was even less than nothing right now. He said he's fine." Maddon was referring to Edwards' slender build. Holy homer, bat man: Much was made of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo using teammate Matt Szczur's bat for his home run in Game 4. Szczur is with the team but inactive for the NLCS. "Tony just wanted to get a feel for something else," Szczur said. Maddon had a bat story. "The one time with the Angels we were going badly, and the guys decided to use the same bat for the first time through the batting order," he said. "Orlando Palmeiro was the first hitter, and he gets called out on strikes, drops the bat on home plate. And the home-plate umpire threw him out of the game thinking he was trying to show him up. And which we're, 'No, no, no.' We had to explain he was leaving it for the next guy. So that was the most extreme case I've ever seen with that. So I think it was Tim Tschida, he might have been the umpire, and he reinstated him. That might have been the craziest. Otherwise, guys change bats all the time." -- Daily Herald Imrem: Cubs' Russell introducing himself to the world By Mike Imrem Addison Russell is an example of how incorrect a sports writer can be. Yes, me. Especially me ... the Wizard of Wrongicity. My greatest misses include a collection of contrary opinions on Theo Epstein's rebuild of the Cubs. For example, for too long I wondered out loud whether trading Andrew Cashner for Anthony Rizzo was a good idea. You know by now how that one worked out. Yet my most dubious gaffe is turning out to be questioning the trade Epstein made for Russell. The second-year shortstop's home run Thursday night led the Cubs to an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS. "Pretty exciting, pumped up," Russell said. "Not just me for me but for the team." On July 5, 2014, the Cubs sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland for a minor leaguer. To me, the Cubs should have kept the two pitchers and built a contender around them that would have taken less time than their methodical rebuilding plan did.

Not only that but I read on a New York newspaper's website that the Cubs, short of pitching prospects, could have wrangled a couple from the Yankees for the two veterans they sent to the A's. I also wrote that the article mentioned that Epstein was outwitted by A's vice president Billy Beane -- and no baseball man wants to be accused of being outwitted by Billy Beane. The minor league shortstop the Cubs received from the A's hit a big home run in Game 4 and another big one in Game 5. His name is Addison Russell, who at 22 years of age is introducing himself to the world. Russell is relatively unknown despite hitting 21 homers with 95 runs batted this year in his second big-league season. How do I know Russell is relatively unknown in major baseball precincts? Because during the NLDS last week I had to explain to a couple Bay Area columnists that Russell is better than the Giants' outstanding veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford. During the NLCS a few more journalists, these from mlb.com, needed to be told that Russell isn't just good, he's really good. Meanwhile, I looked wrong again. Russell, who missed most of last year's Cubs' playoff run due to injury, was in a funk against the Giants and slump against the Dodgers. Russell wasn't alone. Most of the Cubs were having trouble hitting good pitching thrown at them by good playoff competition. Included were Cubs veterans who had a history of excellence like Anthony Rizzo. Russell was this kid who was still trying to prove himself to those who didn't know much about him. What critics might have missed was this is a really cool young player, intelligent and studious and aware of what he can do and what he's still learning to do. "I've been struggling this season but didn't panic," Russell said. "My confidence was still there." His confidence should be at an all-time high after this week's homers against the Dodgers. "I still had the same approach," Russell said. "The only thing that changed from last week is lowering my hands a little bit." Lower the hands, raise the profile. Baseball fans are seeing the Addison Russell that I have been telling out-of-town sports writers about this postseason. It sure looks like I'm getting one right for a change. -- Daily Herald Rozner: Lester pitches Cubs to the brink By Barry Rozner Since last reaching the World Series 71 years ago, only twice have the Cubs come within a game of reaching the World Series.

After Thursday night, you can make it three. The Cubs had three chances to get it done in 1984 and three more in 2003, and both times the dream ended with three consecutive defeats. Now, thanks to Jon Lester and Addison Russell, they've got a pair of games to get it done -- and one of them involves Clayton Kershaw. So after giving away home-field advantage in a Game 2 loss to Kershaw at Wrigley Field Sunday, the Cubs did just what they needed to do, which was take two of three in Los Angeles and give themselves two opportunities in Chicago to advance to the Fall Classic. But it was far from easy. After getting nothing done offensively in Games 2 and 3, the Cubs busted out in Game 4 and left it up to Lester in Game 5, an appropriate spot for the $155 million man brought in to serve as the veteran ace who's been in these tough postseason spots so many times before. And rather than start Kershaw in Game 5, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gambled that he could get enough out of starter Kenta Maeda to get to his bullpen before the Cubs put a big number on the board, and it looked like the visitors would get that big number early. But it was only 1-0 Cubs when Roberts yanked Maeda in the top of the fourth, and when the Dodgers tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning, Roberts' gamble looked like it might pay off, mostly because the Cubs left runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and fifth. Still, the problem with relying on a bullpen day after day in the postseason is all you need is one guy to be out of sync and it can cost you a game. Or maybe more. That happened to the Dodgers when Javy Baez led off the sixth with a basehit against Joe Blanton and stole second. With one out, Russell blasted his second homer in as many days and the Cubs had a 3-1 lead with Lester at only 79 pitches through 5 innings. Would Roberts have been better off with Kershaw? Well, at that point Blanton had given up 3 homers and 2 doubles in his last 8 hitters. Meanwhile, Lester cruised through the sixth and in the seventh he worked past a two-out basehit and finished 7 strong innings at 107 pitches, having allowed just a run on 5 hits with a walk and 6 strikeouts. He gave the Cubs exactly what they needed in Game 5. It's true that the Cubs were awful with runners in scoring position Thursday night, but in the top of the eighth with two on and one out, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant both delivered infield hits that made it 5-1 Cubs, and though it might not have been very loud, those extra runs were thunder in the ears of the Dodgers. Baez then cleared the bases with a double and the Cubs had an 8-1 lead. So after zero runs for two games, the Cubs came up with some big numbers in the last two and they have pushed the Dodgers to another elimination game. Down 2-1 in the NLDS against Washington, Los Angeles won two straight to survive the Nats, Kershaw starting the first one and saving the second two days later.

This time, he'll have to win Game 6 and likely be unavailable for Game 7, though you never know. In any case, the Cubs displayed some serious guts on the road and now they're just one game away from getting to the big dance, a goal they have talked about since being eliminated by the Mets. After what they did in L.A., it might be a mistake to doubt them now. -- Cubs.com Jon artist: Ace, bats have Cubs on cusp By Ken Gurnick and Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Since he took over as manager, Joe Maddon has downplayed the Cubs' long championship drought, ignored any talk about curses, and focused on the present. So, here's where the Cubs are today: One win away from their first World Series appearance since 1945 after an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night. With the win, Chicago has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. "It'd be foolish for us to get ahead of ourselves, because any time you think like that, it never goes the way you want it to," the Cubs' Kris Bryant said, echoing his manager's mantra. "We'll be ready to go for Game 6." So will Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who will start when the NLCS shifts to Wrigley Field on Saturday night. The previous 52 times that an LCS has gone to five games, the winner of Game 5 has gone 34-18 in the series. The odds are in the Cubs' favor. How did they get there? Addison Russell broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a home run (for the second consecutive game) -- the third home run allowed in the series by reliever Joe Blanton -- as Jon Lester won his Game 1 rematch with Kenta Maeda. The 22-year-old Russell is the third-youngest shortstop with multiple career postseason home runs, behind the Astros' Carlos Correa and Dodgers' Corey Seager. "Right there, that situation, just trying not to do too much," Russell said. "I was just trying to find some gaps. I was looking for something up in the zone to drive. First-pitch slider a little bit low. Second pitch was a slider, but it was elevated and I put the barrel on it, and it kind of went. "But just rounding the bases, it was pretty exciting. Pumped up. Not only for myself, but for the team, and that little cushion that Jonny had to go forward from that, and I felt really good." On Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo borrowed Matt Szczur's bat, and had three hits, including a home run. Apparently, Szczur also lent Russell his leggings on Wednesday and again on Thursday. "[Ben Zobrist] was like, 'Hey, [Matt], what have you got for me?" Szczur said. Maeda allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts, but was removed in the fourth inning two outs after allowing a double to Javier Baez and hitting Jason Heyward with a pitch to begin the frame. Each of Maeda's three postseason starts have been four innings or less. Lester allowed one run over seven innings in his eighth career postseason victory. "It's certainly a credit to [Lester]," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I thought that when we did get a little bit of traffic, I thought that we put a little pressure on him. But he's a great pitcher. He's a great pitcher who competes and finds ways to get outs when he needs to. So we had some opportunities, but those guys got the hit when they needed." The Cubs started fast against Maeda, with a single by Dexter Fowler leading off the game, a one-out RBI double from Rizzo followed by a walk to Zobrist. But Maeda battled back to strike out Baez and Heyward.

The Dodgers had runners in scoring position three of the first four innings and tied it in the fourth. Howie Kendrick doubled with one out. Following club strategy to play mind games with Lester on the bases, Kendrick was awarded a steal of third on a replay overturn after originally being called out. With the Cubs' infield in, Adrian Gonzalez's one-out tapper was fumbled by first baseman Rizzo, who settled for the out at first while Kendrick scored. Blanton, who served up a tie-breaking pinch-hit grand slam to Miguel Montero on an 0-2 slider in Game 1, came on for the sixth inning. He allowed a single to Baez, who stole second base. Heyward struck out, but Russell homered to center on an 0-1 slider to open a 3-1 lead. "Obviously, our backs are against the wall, but we feel like we've been there all year, from Day One until the end," said Blanton. "We got down in Washington [in the NL Division Series], and everybody wrote us off then. I'm sure everybody is doing the same now, which is fine. That's maybe where we need to be. "We lost Game 1 in Chicago and everybody probably wrote us off then, saying we were going to be swept, but we came back and won the next two. We fight. We showed that in the ninth, we put up some runs when we were down a whole bunch. That's the character of this team." The Cubs tacked on five runs (four unearned) in the eighth on infield singles by Fowler and Bryant and a three-run double by Baez. Chicago had runners on base every inning but the third, and went 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. But the Dodgers scored twice in the ninth off Aroldis Chapman. Now the stage is set for Game 6. "You can run into a guy making a spot start on any given day and he could be the best pitcher in the world on that day," Rizzo said. "Kershaw is just the most consistent, best pitcher in the world." That's why the Dodgers aren't in panic mode about momentum shifts as they head back to Wrigley Field, where the last time they played, you-know-who beat the Cubs. "We can grab back that momentum with one name: Kershaw," Gonzalez said. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Sloppy again: After committing four errors in a Game 4 loss, the Dodgers made two misplays in the eighth inning as the Cubs blew it open. Pedro Baez dropped a flip from Gonzalez to open the inning with an error. Three batters later, with the infield in, Gonzalez went to his right to stop Fowler's smash but couldn't throw home, and with pitcher Pedro Baez not covering first base, Gonzalez was beaten to the bag by Fowler's head-first dive as one run scored. A second run scored on Bryant's infield single to third base, and three more scored on Baez's double. Vroom, vroom: The Cubs stuck to their plan to score first. Fowler singled to lead off the game, and eventually scored on Rizzo's RBI double. The offense then stalled, and the Cubs went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position before Russell launched an 0-1 pitch to center with one out and one on in the sixth for his second postseason homer. According to Statcast™, the home run had an exit velocity of 104.4 mph and was projected at 419 feet. "I feel like my at-bats haven't been that bad this whole postseason, but you stick to your work ethic and you believe in yourself and you stay confident," Russell said. "You want to help produce for your team and for your offense." Batting cleanup? That's where the Dodgers put catcher Carlos Ruiz, even though he entered the game 0-for-14 against Lester, and the game found him quickly. In the bottom of the first inning, the Dodgers had runners on the corners with one out, but Ruiz flied out to right field and Kendrick grounded out to third. Ruiz also flied out to left and fouled out to the catcher before driving a two-out RBI double in the eighth. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Russell joined Kyle Schwarber as the only Cubs players age 22 or younger to hit home runs in consecutive postseason games. Schwarber hit three last season, in the NL Division Series Games 3 and 4 and Game 1 of the NLCS. UPON FURTHER REVIEW The Dodgers challenged third-base umpire Eric Cooper's out call on Kendrick's attempted steal of third base with one out in the fourth inning. After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official definitively determined that the runner contacted third base prior to the fielder applying the tag. The call was overturned, and the runner was safe. Gonzalez bunted to lead off the Dodgers' seventh, and second baseman Javier Baez retrieved the ball and made an acrobatic throw to Rizzo at first. Gonzalez was called safe but the Cubs challenged the ruling. After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official definitively determined that the ball contacted the interior of the fielder's glove prior to the runner's foot touching first base. The call was overturned, and the runner was out. The Dodgers also challenged a safe call at first base by Ted Barrett on Bryant's infield single in the eighth inning, but the Dodgers challenged the ruling. After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official definitively determined that the runner's foot touched first base prior to the ball contacting the interior of the fielder's glove. The call was confirmed, and the runner was safe. In the Chicago eighth, Rizzo lined out to second baseman Enrique Hernandez, who flipped to Seager for a force of Fowler at second. Fowler was called out, but the Cubs challenged the ruling. After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official definitively determined that the runner's hand touched second base prior to the ball contacting the interior of the fielder's glove. The call was overturned, and the runner was safe. QUOTABLE "Yeah, I do believe in momentum, but I also believe that the next day's starting pitcher has a lot to do with momentum. So I like our guy." -- Roberts, referring to Kershaw WHAT'S NEXT Cubs: Kyle Hendricks will start Game 6, back in the comforts of Wrigley Field at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. The right-hander led the Majors with a 1.32 home ERA in 15 games (14 starts). The Majors' ERA leader, Hendricks took the loss in Game 2 of the LCS, giving up one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked four, and needs better fastball command. Dodgers: Here's something different: Kershaw in the postseason on extra rest. Kershaw will be working on five days' rest -- instead of the usual four days and occasional three days -- when he starts Game 6 on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. He'll be returning to Wrigley Field, where he beat the Cubs in Game 2 six days earlier with seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball. -- Cubs.com Cubs are 1 Wrigley W shy of historic WS By Phil Rogers LOS ANGELES -- In their most famous summer ever, the Cubs lost their crack at the National League pennant because the rival Mets cornered the market on young talent and had a manager who kept their arms and legs fresh for September. That was 1969, when four Hall of Famers weren't enough to get the job done.

The Cubs are back on the doorstep of the World Series after an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday, and this time they're the impetuous team with a manager worth his weight in spreadsheets and stopwatches. Maybe what goes around really does come around, even if it takes a lifetime to do it. But you know the Cubs won't get ahead of themselves. They'll take it one day at a time, as advised by Joe Maddon, the manager who says his players should treat October like June or July. No team knows better than the Cubs that the clinching win can be the toughest to get in a Championship Series. They fell short after taking a 3-1 lead over the Marlins in 2003 and a 2-0 lead over the Padres in 1984, when the format was best-of-five. The fact that the Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908 is the most infamous drought in sports, but their NL pennant dry spell is just as unrivaled. It's been 71 years since Chicago appeared in the World Series in '45, which is also by far the longest drought of its kind. No team has had a longer period of absence from the World Series, and among the current franchises, the next two on the list are the Nationals (and that's only if you include their years in Montreal), who haven't appeared in a World Series since entering the league in 1969 (48 seasons) and the Mariners, who have never been to the Fall Classic since joining the AL in 1977 (40 seasons). To add to the degree of difficulty this time, the Dodgers will turn to Clayton Kershaw on Saturday night. "Obviously, [this] feels good," Maddon said Thursday night. "You'd much rather go home under those circumstances than any other, and you want to get it done as quickly as possible. It's going to be a formidable event. Our guys will absolutely be ready for the moment, I promise you that. It's great. The city of Chicago has got to be buzzing pretty much right now." Yet if Kershaw can beat Kyle Hendricks for the second time in the series, the Dodgers will force the NLCS to an epic seventh game, with the weight of other generations' struggles becoming an uninvited guest in the storyline. The Dodgers were outscored by 12 runs in Games 4 and 5, ending the roll they were on after the Kershaw and Rich Hill masterpieces in Games 2 and 3, but the series is far from finished. "We'll get a day away from this to reset, and we've got Clayton going Game 6," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "So that's a game we expect to win." Since Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell came alive in the fourth inning of Game 4, the Cubs have shown why they were World Series favorites after winning 103 games. Jon Lester pitched with the concentration and toughness of a bull rider Thursday night, but it was the backing of his young teammates that put the victory away, flashing the team speed, range and fielding panache that has made Wrigley the place to be. In Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Russell, the Cubs have baby-faced stars who contribute in every way a player can. Russell homered for the second game in a row -- joining Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor and Derek Jeter on a list of the youngest shortstops to hit multiple homers in the postseason -- and Baez charged in from the outfield grass to deny Adrian Gonzalez of a bunt single in the seventh inning, when the Dodgers only trailed 3-1. Lester, who has battled issues throwing to bases since joining the Cubs, stared down the Dodgers' dugout after Joc Pederson tried to bunt his way on base in the second inning. Lester says he was thankful Gonzalez was still trying to exploit that weakness of his late in the game. "I'd prefer Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson to try to bunt," Lester said. "They're home run guys. They hit 30 homers, so I'd rather them put the ball on the ground and let these guys try to field it and take my chances that way."

Both Rizzo and Bryant drove in runs, raising the Cubs' record to 21-1 in games when that happens. Rizzo ripped a double to right field in the first inning. Bryant -- who many thought was too big to play third base (6-5, 230 pounds) -- raced down the line for an infield single in the eighth -- just another athletic moment in a night full of them for the team constructed by Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod. So here they are, one win away from meeting the Indians in a World Series where the winning team will end a championship drought. There's just one little detail to complete -- a victory over Kershaw on Saturday or Hill on Sunday. "We all know what we have in front of us with Kershaw going into Game 6," Lester said. "And we're going to do the same thing we've done all year, show up on -- what is it? I don't even know what today is -- show up on Saturday and be ready to play and give it our best. Hopefully he's not the good Kershaw, and we get kind of the mediocre guy that gives up a few runs and we're able to hold them where they're at." While Kershaw is the leading man in the Game 6 cast, it's the Cubs' Ivy Leaguer from Dartmouth, Hendricks, who will take the mound after leading the NL in ERA (2.13) this season. Sure, he may only have won because Kershaw's lower back didn't allow him to throw enough innings to qualify, but Hendricks is more than capable of stealing the show. Hendricks' style of keeping hitters off balance might be the exact right formula on a night when the Dodgers are desperate to regain the momentum that was lost to the Cubs, who seemed to feed off each other like a basketball team breaking an opponent with a full-court press. "Well, they're very athletic," Roberts said. "They've got a nice mix of youth and some veteran players. But under Joe, his leadership, those guys play the game the right way. It's a fun team to play against. ... I wouldn't say that their speed or athleticism kind of flustered us. It's just more they made plays when they needed to, and Baez has made some very nice defensive plays." There's a part of Roberts that appreciates Bryant flying down the line for a single or Dexter Fowler diving for balls or into bases. It's the way he played the game, and he's instilling that in his own team. "Fowler in Game 1 made some great plays," Roberts said. "Bryant plays the game the right way, gets down the line, legs infield singles out. And, again, I think our guys did the same thing. This series certainly isn't over, but it's fun to compete against guys like that." Leo Durocher rarely complimented the Mets back in 1969. But surely he knew what Roberts is feeling, whether he expressed it or not. -- Cubs.com 'Fired-up' Lester stifles Dodgers' bats By Jenifer Langosch LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers danced on the basepaths behind him, feigned bunts in front of him, but, in the middle of it all, Jon Lester dismissed the distraction and promptly stared down the Dodgers to pitch the Cubs to within one win of their first World Series berth since 1945. Lester bought time for the offense to pile on in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series by limiting Los Angeles to one run over seven innings. It was the foundation for an 8-4 victory that notched Lester his eighth career postseason win and gave Chicago some breathing room with another Clayton Kershaw start looming. "That's what he does. He's a big-game pitcher," said Lester's catcher, David Ross. "He never disappoints. This guy is a true competitor in every sense of the word."

After being held to one run by Lester in the opening game of this NLCS, the Dodgers telegraphed their altered game plan before a pitch was ever thrown at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. They wanted to disrupt the veteran lefty. Specifically, they intended to expose Lester's troubles throwing to first base. Speaking Thursday afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described it as an attempt to "get in his psyche a little bit." What the Dodgers perhaps left out of their calculation was how Lester would take those tactics and turn them into added fuel. Lester's intensity was enhanced from the get-go. He issued a four-pitch leadoff walk to Kiké Hernandez, who then tried to toy with the lefty by pushing the limits of his lead on first base. Hernandez never did take off for second, but he did draw Lester's attention. When Joc Pederson, an inning later, tried to bunt his way on, Lester disregarded the Cubs' defensive plan and called off the other swarming defenders. He fielded the ball himself, short-hopped it to first, but retired Pederson to end the inning. "I think they were trying to rattle him a little bit," Ross said. "We dealt with that all year, so it's nothing new. I want them to bunt. I want them to give us free outs. That's fine. Every out matters in the playoffs. Every pitch matters. When you give one away, that's one you're not getting back." And as if to remind the Dodgers that he had no intentions of being embarrassed on this stage, Lester glared into their dugout before heading back to his own. He did the same -- this time in the direction of home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez -- in the third after notching an inning-ending strikeout of Corey Seager two pitches after he thought he had it. "I just get fired up getting outs," Lester said afterward. "I play this game with emotion, and if it rubs people the wrong way, oh well." The Dodgers never did bunt for a hit against Lester, and they parlayed a stolen base into a run just once. More notably, they spent most of the night watching Lester toy with them. Lester threw 74 percent fastballs, just as he had in his Game 1 outing, but he executed his game plan with relative ease. Against him, the Dodgers went hitless in five chances with runners in scoring position. "Do what you do best," manager Joe Maddon said. "What he does best is he throws pitches very well, up to 94 miles an hour where he wants to, and then he has a great cutter and a curveball. So why would I want him to get mentally infiltrated with trying to hold runners if he's not comfortable? He was glad he went out and pitched tonight like he did." In three starts this postseason, Lester has now limited his opponents to two runs over 21 innings. Thursday's victory improved his career record in Game 5 starts to 3-0. The previous two, also on the road, gave his team a 3-2 lead in a series they'd eventually close out in six games. The Cubs now have a chance to do the same. -- Cubs.com Russell mania! Cub's HR breaks tie in 6th By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Matt Szczur may not have any gear left when he goes home. Not only did Anthony Rizzo take one of Szczur's bats on Wednesday, which resulted in three hits, including a home run, but Cubs teammate Addison Russell swiped a pair of leggings.

Russell wore the new undergarments again on Thursday, and, once again, he homered to help the Cubs post an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers and take a 3-2 lead in the National League Championship Series, putting Chicago on the cusp of its first World Series berth since 1945. "It's good karma going all around," Szczur said. Russell could use that. Last year, he didn't play in the NLCS because of a hamstring injury suffered in the NL Division Series against the Cardinals. He now is the ninth player in Cubs history to homer in two or more consecutive postseason games, and is the second-youngest shortstop in Major League history to do so. The youngest was the Dodgers' Corey Seager, who homered in Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS this year. Wednesday's performance definitely helped Russell relax on Thursday. "I feel like my at-bats haven't been that bad this whole postseason, but you stick to your work ethic and you believe in yourself and you stay confident," he said. "There's a little frustration there, but it's a different type of frustration. It's a frustration where you know you have the stuff to get the job done, but you want to help produce for your team and for your offense. That's where I was kind of struggling a little bit with that frustration. "My confidence is up, and [Wednesday] was a great night, pushing me forward to today and I just have to try to carry it over to Saturday." On Saturday, the Cubs and Dodgers will play Game 6 at Wrigley Field. If Chicago wins, it's in the World Series for the first time since 1945. At 22, Russell doesn't have much of a sense of the team's long history. This is his second season in the big leagues. Cubs pitcher Jon Lester was 22 when he made his Major League debut 10 years ago. "I remember my first full season playing in September and October," Lester said. "It's a different feeling. You're used to having that month off in the Minor Leagues. I think last year was an adjustment period for a lot of guys and look where we are." After going 1-for-24 in the postseason, Russell is 5-for-10 in the past two games, with two home runs and four RBIs. He struck out in his first two at-bats on Thursday, then launched a two-run homer off Joe Blanton with one out in the sixth. For the second straight day, Russell and Szczur played catch with a football in the outfield at Dodger Stadium. Russell was just looking for some way to loosen up before the game. Szczur, in case you didn't know, isn't on the Cubs' playoff roster. He's staying with the team because of his contributions earlier in the year. And his magic touch. "Addy is pretty relaxed all the time," Szczur said. "I think his laid-back attitude is what makes him a great baseball player. He doesn't get up too high, he doesn't get down too low." Right now, Russell is just right. -- Cubs.com Good Baez, Hollywood: 2B a hit, not hurt By Jenifer Langosch LOS ANGELES -- Javier Baez seemed to be a star in the making early on this postseason, helping the Cubs dispatch the Giants with multiple game-winning hits and several defensive gems. Now, he is playing like a star already made.

Baez shined again in Chicago's 8-4 win over the Dodgers on Thursday, a victory that moved the Cubs a win away from their first trip to the World Series since 1945. With a three-hit night in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, Baez added another layer of evidence that he's a 23-year-old who has officially arrived. "A guy that continues to amaze," marveled catcher David Ross. "We've watched Javy all year. I know maybe the world hasn't, but Javy is a phenomenal player and on his way to being a superstar." Baez became the youngest player in Cubs history to notch three hits and three RBIs in a game when he delivered a bases-clearing double that punctuated a five-run eighth inning. By then, Baez had already tallied leadoff hits in the fourth and sixth innings. His sixth-inning single preceded Addison Russell's go-ahead home run. The performance gave Baez his fourth multi-hit game of this postseason. "He comes and plays, and he's ready every day. He's a gamer," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "His instincts, you can't teach that and he has it. Obviously, the adjustments he's made at the plate have helped him take off, and he's not even close to tapping into his full potential at the plate, in my opinion." Baez complemented the big offensive night with yet another dazzling play in the field, this time charging in from shallow right field, where he was positioned as part of a shift, to field a slug bunt by Adrian Gonzalez. After a brief replay review, Gonzalez was ruled out. That erased what would have been a leadoff runner reaching in the seventh inning of a two-run game. "He just made an unbelievable play," Gonzalez said. "Javy, full sprint, bare hand, throw against [his body] to first base. Everything you have to do to make a play." An inning later, Baez stepped in with the bases loaded and two out and put the game out of reach with a double into the right-field corner. He came up limping with an irritated ankle after pulling into second base, but Baez shooed a trainer back into the dugout so he could finish the game. Afterward, Baez insisted he was fine. "I just think I overran [the base] a little bit," he said. "I saw [right fielder Yasiel Puig] bobble the ball, and I was trying to go three. I was just trying to run a little bit harder than I do." -- Cubs.com Hendricks excited, but mindset won't change By Jenifer Langosch LOS ANGELES -- Already the oft-overlooked member of the Cubs' stellar starting staff, Kyle Hendricks will head into the biggest start of his career with the spotlight shining brightly on someone else. While it was the 26-year-old Hendricks who claimed the league's regular-season ERA title, it is opposing starter Clayton Kershaw drawing almost all the headlines leading up to their matchup in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs beat the Dodgers, 8-4, in Game 5 on Thursday to move within one win of their first World Series appearance since 1945. Kershaw will shoulder most of the weight Saturday, too, as he carries not only heavy expectations but also the onus of extending the Dodgers' season. Hendricks, in contrast, can set a city into celebration if he's able to pitch the Cubs into the Fall Classic. The Cubs left Los Angeles with a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series. "It's big, but at the end of the day, you have to take the same mindset into it as any game," said Hendricks, four days after being outdueled by Kershaw. "It's going to be the same environment as [Game 2], Kershaw again. I'm looking forward to it. It's a good matchup. I'm excited in a sense to get another crack at it."

Hendricks went toe-to-toe with arguably the greatest pitcher of this generation in Game 2, but made a mistake that Adrian Gonzalez put in the seats to send the Dodgers to a 1-0 win. However, Hendricks' performance, which came a week after he was struck in the forearm by a line drive, reminded why he should not be entirely upstaged by Kershaw. Hendricks' second taste of the postseason came on the heels of a season in which he posted a 2.13 ERA and became the fourth pitcher in baseball history to make at least 30 starts in a season without allowing more than four runs in a single one. Only Billy Pierce (1960), Phil Ortega (1967) and Tyson Ross (2015) had done that since 1913. Hendricks also ranked among the league leaders in opponent OPS (.581), WHIP (0.98), hits per nine innings (6.73) and opponent slugging percentage (.319). His 1.32 ERA at Wrigley Field was the second-best single-season mark in franchise history, and his 24 starts with two or fewer runs allowed tied teammate Jon Lester for the most in baseball. It was a season that will earn Hendricks NL Cy Young Award consideration, and one that a three-time NL Cy Young winner took notice of from afar. "He obviously had an amazing year," Kershaw said of Hendricks. "He's kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation, with his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball, and put him in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it, but you can't put the barrel on it. He's really good at mixing speeds, changing it up. He's a tough guy to go against, for sure." In his start opposite Kershaw in Game 2, Hendricks allowed three hits, including the home run to Gonzalez, and walked four. Those four free passes were particularly uncharacteristic, as Hendricks boasted a walk rate per nine innings of 2.1 during the regular season. "I knew who I was going up against, so with that being said, I knew I couldn't give in," Hendricks said, acknowledging the Kershaw factor. "After I gave up the one run, I knew I had to keep it there to give us a chance. And that comes with that. You really have to toe the line in the playoffs. Because one run against a guy like that could be huge." But the Cubs were intentional about plugging Hendricks into their postseason rotation the way they did, believing that a pair of starts in a place where he has pitched so well could make Hendricks a worthy challenger to Kershaw. Over his 17 home starts this year, including two this postseason, Hendricks has allowed 16 earned runs. If he can be that stingy Saturday, he may emerge as the starter being most talked about when it's all over. "Yeah, he understands that Clayton Kershaw is a guy that if you give up one or two, you might not be in the game very long," catcher David Ross said. "But he has to stay in the moment. He understands that. We have a ton of confidence in him. I'm excited to have him on our side." -- Cubs.com Hendricks vs. Kershaw as Cubs seek Series berth By Phil Rogers If you're going to end a World Series drought, you might as well do it against a distinguished opponent. That's the chance that the Cubs have given themselves. They'll face Clayton Kershaw on Saturday night, with the Dodgers backed against the wall. The stakes in that game are almost as high as they can get, especially for the Cubs, who are pursuing their first pennant since 1945 and first World Series championship since 1908.

Kershaw twice helped the Dodgers avoid elimination in the National League Division Series. He'll be asked to do the same in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with the Cubs one win away from advancing to meet the Indians in the World Series, which starts Tuesday in Cleveland. Kershaw faces Kyle Hendricks at Wrigley Field. He will have to turn around the momentum of the Cubs, who rolled to two easy victories at Dodger Stadium after the Dodgers won two of the first three games. Kershaw beat the Cubs, 1-0, in Game 2. If the Dodgers win Game 6, left-hander Rich Hill will meet Jake Arrieta in the deciding game. "If [Kershaw] is on top of his game, it's going to be another very close, low-scoring game,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We just have to do our best to eek out as many runs as we can. And on the other side, you have to pitch better than good pitching to win. … Nothing has been decided, obviously. We have to go back there and play our A-game to beat these two -- or the first outstanding pitcher, and hopefully that's all we have to face.'' With Kershaw sidelined, Hendricks used his command and trademark changeup to become the first Cub since 1945 to win the NL ERA title. He was 16-8 with a 2.13 ERA over 190 innings, and grew more effective late in the season (7-1, 1.72 in his last 11 starts). Kershaw knows that Hendricks could steal the spotlight from him, as he did the ERA title. "Well, he obviously had an amazing year,'' Kershaw said. "He's kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation, with his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball, and put it in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it, but you can't put the barrel on it. He's really good at mixing speeds, changing it up. He's a tough guy to go against, for sure.'' Hendricks worked 5 1/3 innings in the 1-0 loss to Kershaw in Game 2, with the difference in the game a second-inning homer by Adrian Gonzalez off an 89-mph fastball. His allowed only three hits but walked four, the latter more a sign of how carefully he was pitching than a lack of control. "It's not like anything was out of whack,'' Hendricks said. "I've just got to dial it in, basically, for this start. It wasn't terrible again. I knew who I was going up against, so with that being said, I knew I couldn't give in. After I gave up the one run, I knew I had to keep it there to give us a chance. "You really have to toe the line in the playoffs. Because one run against a guy like that could be huge. I was just trying to do all I could to keep it a 1-0 game.'' In the 2003 NLCS, the Cubs also returned to Wrigley with a 3-2 series lead, but they couldn't finish the job against the Marlins, even though they led in the eighth inning of Game 6. While Maddon has done a great job downplaying that storyline in his two seasons in Chicago, the painful history will hang over the franchise until it writes a different ending. For the Cubs to avoid the angst of a winner-take-all Game 7, they've got to figure out a way to do something they couldn't in Game 2 -- do damage against Kershaw. His curveball wasn't its best, but he allowed only three runners to reach base in seven innings of the Dodgers' shutout victory on Sunday at Wrigley Field. Kershaw is trying to help his team reach the World Series for the first time in his sixth postseason, including NLCS losses in 2008, '09 and '13. He said he can't describe how he'll feel when it's time to play, but he is hoping for normalcy. "I don't know if I have a word for it,'' Kershaw said. "But I think you do everything you can to try and keep it just like another start at the beginning. Then obviously the magnitude and the situation of the game kind of raises everybody's adrenaline and things like that. But trying to keep it the same right now.'' Kershaw pounded the strike zone with fastballs that averaged 94 mph. He threw 50 fastballs out of 84 pitches, giving up two hits and one walk before manager Dave Roberts turned the lead over to closer Kenley Jansen.

Kershaw has used his command of pitches and unusual delivery to rack up three NL Cy Young Awards, and probably would be in line for a fourth this season had he not been limited to 21 starts because of a mild herniated disc in his lower back. Maddon offered a good description this week of what sets Kershaw apart from other left-handers. "Delivery,'' Maddon said. "Deception has a lot to do with it, even out of the stretch. He just falls. Like he comes in and he just falls toward home plate. He's got a good move [to first base], so you have to honor that. But the way he comes set and falls toward the plate, I'm certain there's got to be a deception.'' Maddon said he thought Kershaw "had to be really tired by the time he came out of [Game 2]'' because he was working for the fourth time in 10 days. "I was really impressed with his command and his velocity,'' Maddon said. "I was anticipating neither to be that sharp or that good. I was hoping, but they were, and that was the difference-maker. Plus, he's so competitive. He's hyper-competitive, and he's got a tremendous level of self confidence.'' Kershaw was 12-4 with a career-low 1.69 ERA during the regular season but didn't reach the 162-inning limit to qualify for the ERA title. His postseason work is probably better measured by the Dodgers' 4-0 record in his appearances than his 3.72 ERA over 19 1/3 innings. Kershaw said he was available to start Game 5 on three days' rest if needed, but Roberts and the Andrew Friedman-led front office decided to take the patient approach. He will be working on an extra day's rest, and has thrown only 168 1/3 innings between the regular season and postseason. That could be an edge for him, not that he needs one. "If you haven't done something, you're probably fresher,'' Kershaw said. "But I never really felt bad in previous Octobers. I've always felt the same. So I don't know. I don't think it really works like that, honestly. But I feel good.'' History awaits. -- Cubs.com Rizzo uses Szczur's bat, sparks Maddon's memory By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Matt Szczur may run out of bats, and he's not even on the Cubs' postseason roster. Anthony Rizzo borrowed one of Szczur's bats on Wednesday after striking out in his first two at-bats, and then hit a home run in the Cubs' 10-2 romp over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Rizzo used Szczur's bat again in the first inning of Game 5 as well, and he promptly opened the scoring with an RBI double as the Cubs went on to an 8-4 win to take a 3-2 lead in the series. On Thursday, Szczur took batting practice, so he had at least one bat remaining. Manager Joe Maddon recalled a game when all the players on the team decided to share. "The one time with the Angels we were going badly, and the guys decided to use the same bat for the first time through the batting order," Maddon said. "Orlando Palmeiro was the first hitter, and he gets called out on strikes and drops the bat on home plate. And the home-plate umpire threw him out of the game, thinking he was trying to show him up. "We're [saying] 'No, no, no,' and we had to explain he was leaving it for the next guy," Maddon said. "I think it was Tim Tschida, he might have been the umpire, and he reinstated [Palmeiro]. That might have been the craziest."

Maddon pointed out that players change their bats all the time, switching from light colored bats to dark colored ones. Usually the size stays the same, but they might want a different look. "That's just how hitters are," Maddon said. He did recall someone telling him a story about Stan Musial and how he used one bat and never broke any. "That's the anomaly guy," Maddon said. "That's just part of the tradition of baseball. Guys are normally very superstitious, and if it takes another bat to get you moving in the right direction, you're going to do that." • Carl Edwards Jr., who had to leave Wednesday's game after facing three batters because of tightness in his left hamstring, was fine on Thursday. Cubs athletic trainer PJ Mainville told Maddon that Edwards had a cramp, and it was nothing serious. The Cubs most likely will not use the right-hander on Thursday. • Maddon knew John Lackey was not happy when he went to pull him after the right-hander had walked the Dodgers' Nos. 8 and 9 hitters to open the fifth inning on Wednesday. "When he walks two guys like that at the bottom of the batting order, that set off the alarm for me," Maddon said. "The stuff was good, but it's abnormal to see him walk people." Maddon admitted he took a deep breath before heading out to the mound and took his time, walking slowly around the "NLCS" logo painted on the field near the visitors' dugout. "[Lackey] was dropping that line, 'You've got to be kidding me,' and I've seen him do that to other managers before," Maddon said. The Cubs signed Lackey because they liked the edge he brings. "You have to understand, you're dealing with some highly charged personalities," Maddon said. "At the end of the day, it's about more than one person. You have to make some tough decisions without everyone liking them. At the moment, I thought it was the right thing to do. "John gets angry," Maddon said. "It shouldn't surprise anybody. [Home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez] was feeling the wrath also. [Lackey] vibrates at that frequency, he's an edgy ballplayer. Johnny's always been that guy." • The Cubs' Mike Montgomery hit a single and earned the win, and he became the third relief pitcher in LCS history to earn the win and have a hit. The others include Nolan Ryan (two hits) for the Mets in Game 3 of the 1969 NLCS against the Braves, and Dick Hall (one hit) for the Orioles in Game 1 of the '70 American League Championship Series at Minnesota. -- ESPNChicago.com Comparable Cubs: Kyle Hendricks through the eyes of Greg Maddux By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- Even before he began having success in the big leagues, Chicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks heard the comparisons. The results weren’t there yet, but his style closely resembled that of a former Cub and current member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. The ability to make the ball move combined with a thinking man’s approach to pitching. It’s easy to picture Greg Maddux when Hendricks is on the mound. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw sees it, too. “He's kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation, with his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball, and put him in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it, but you can't put the barrel on it,” Kershaw said Thursday. “He's really good at mixing speeds, changing it up.”

That’s high praise from the top pitcher in baseball, comparing Hendricks to one of the greatest ever. So what does Maddux think of Hendricks? “He does all those things usually better than the guys he’s facing,” Maddux said in a phone interview from his home in Las Vegas. “If it was a radar contest, then why play the game, right? Velocity is nice, but command and movement are better.” Hendricks’ repertoire will be put to the test when he faces Kershaw for the second time in the NLCS in Game 6 on Saturday night. A victory would send the Cubs to the World Series for the first time since 1945. “It's big, but at the end of the day, you have to take the same mindset into it as any game,” Hendricks said on Thursday afternoon. “I'm looking forward to it. It's a good matchup. I'm excited in a sense to get another crack at it.” Hendricks lost Game 2, 1-0, in a classic pitching duel, which led to Kershaw's comparison. Where are Hendricks and Maddux most similar? “It’s mostly the [sinking] fastball,” Maddux said. “He has the ability to throw a two-seam fastball to both sides of the plate. Most pitchers are four-seam to one side and two-seam to the other. If you can throw your two-seamer to both sides of the plate, that’s an advantage to the pitcher.” Informed of what Maddux likes best about his game, Hendricks smiled and nodded his head. Talented, cerebral type pitchers apparently understand each other. “In his time, it was hard to throw a sinker glove side -- away from arm side,” Hendricks said. “It’s developed more because pitchers see the benefit of it. But he was one of the pioneers, freezing lefties like that. Throwing my sinker to both sides of the plate has been a key for me.” He’ll need his sinker and everything else working, as navigating the same lineup two starts in a row can be difficult. The familiarity can give a slight advantage to the hitter, so changing up his approach is paramount for Hendricks. Maddux already sees that ability in Hendricks. “Marco Estrada has one of the best changeups, but you see him sneak fastballs by guys all the time,” Maddux said of the Blue Jays pitcher. “Hendricks is no different. He has the ability to recognize when a hitter is sitting on a certain pitch and throw something else.” Hendricks agrees: “Getting the reps and learning how to manage the game helps. Having a four-seam and a better curveball open the game up for me.” Hendricks has had a better fastball this season, even as it sits in the 87-mph range, about 4-5 mph slower than what Maddux threw early in his career. And Hendricks will throw it when the opponent least expects it, even with a base open and a dangerous hitter at the plate. It’s been part of his evolution. But at the end of the day, the sinking pitch most reminds Maddux of himself when he watches the Cubs' emerging star. “He relies on the low fastball that sinks pretty good,” Maddux stated. “Very good at trying to keep the ball in front of the outfield with that pitch. That’s what it’s about, locating your fastball, changing speeds and keeping the ball in the ballpark. “He’s fun to watch.” -- ESPNChicago.com No roster spot? no problem: Szczur still an NLCS star By Jesse Rogers

LOS ANGELES -- The last thing Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur thought he would be doing after Games 4 and 5 of the NLCS was speaking with reporters. Szczur isn't active on the 25-man roster though he's traveling with the team and staying ready in case there's an injury. His equipment and clothes, however, are still being used. "It's good karma going on all around," Szczur said after the Cubs' 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on Thursday. "I didn't expect to talk to the media at all." First there was the revelation that first baseman Anthony Rizzo was using Szczur's bats -- and having success with them. Rizzo actually used one late in Game 3 and earned himself a broken bat single. After striking out twice in Game 4, using his own bat, he returned to a Szczur model and promptly homered, later adding two more hits that night. Then came Addison Russell's admission he forgot his "leggings" in Chicago so Szczur came to the rescue offering his. Russell also homered in Game 4 then again in Game 5. All of a sudden, others wanted in on the Szczur good-luck train. "[Ben] Zobrist was like 'Hey Szczur what do you have for me?' " Szczur joked. "A lot of things happen for a reason." Rizzo kept using Szczur's bat Thursday and had two more hits, and Russell wore the leggings for a second day in a row. Szczur wasn't done there as he helped Russell get ready before the game. "He wanted to get loose in a different way and he asked me if I would throw the football with him and I said, 'No problem, I'm here for whatever,' " Szczur said. So Szczur donated his bats to Rizzo and his leggings and time to Russell. The result was big nights for both players and two wins for the Cubs -- plus some extra attention to the man responsible for it happening. "Its good publicity," Szczur said smiling. -- ESPNChicago.com Riding the backs of their young core, Cubs surge ahead in NLCS By Jesse Rogers LOS ANGELES -- After being maligned and frustrated in the first three games of the National League Championship Series, Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell is joining Javier Baez, his double-play partner, in a coming-out party of the organization’s youth. For the second night in a row, their contributions helped the Cubs to victory, putting them on the brink of the team’s first World Series appearance since 1945. “They continue to grow,” catcher David Ross said after a 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. “They find a way to get it done. They don’t get swallowed up in the big moment, they thrive in it. The growth process is amazing to me.” It has certainly been amazing to watch Baez both at the plate and in the field as once again he dazzled, this time throwing out Adrian Gonzalez after he laid down a surprise bunt in the seventh inning. Then Baez cleared the bases for a three-run double in the eighth to put away Game 5 for good. We’ve come to expect that out of the 23-year-old Baez this postseason, but Russell was slumping as recently as two days ago. Russell never wavered. Not for a moment. He never gave up or gave in. Was there frustration? Of course, but not the debilitating kind. “I feel like my at-bats haven't been that bad this whole postseason, but you stick to your work ethic and you believe in yourself and you stay confident,” the 22-year-old Russell said after homering for the second consecutive night. “There's a little frustration there, but it's a different type of frustration. It's a frustration where you know you have the stuff to get the job done, [and] you want to help produce for your team and for your offense.”

Russell broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run shot in the sixth inning one day after doing the same in the fourth inning to extend a Cubs lead. Two home runs in two days to go along with three other hits raised Russell’s postseason batting average from .042 to .263. His playoffs changed that quickly, though only because he stuck with the program. That has been the storyline for Games 4 and 5 as the Cubs are getting to the heart of the Dodgers' bullpen after some frustrating moments in Games 2 and 3. “The makeup of these guys, they have something about them,” Ben Zobrist said. “They’re clutch guys. They’re clutch players.” It’s not so much that they’re clutch in an every-moment sense, it’s that they have the ability to be clutch because they’re talented and mature beyond their years. That’s what’s separating the young Cubs from others. And don’t forget Willson Contreras in that conversation. All he has done in limited playing time is go 7-for-17 this postseason. Cries for the 24-year-old to play more instead of the slumping Jason Heyward are only going to get louder. “He's working good at-bats,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Contreras. “He's not just pigeonholing himself, deploying the baseball. He's doing the proverbial taking what the pitcher gives him, and using the whole field. And he plays with that energy. You've got to love the energy that he plays with. Everybody does. Not a surprise at all.” Talk to any veteran on the team and they will say the same thing: There is no surprise that the young players are coming through. They’ve seen it all season. In fact, they saw it starting in spring training and it simply hasn’t stopped. No slump keeps them or this Cubs team down for very long. “At any given moment it can happen for you,” Heyward said. “Slumps end, slumps start. That’s the way it goes sometimes.” Heyward could have been talking about himself instead of his teammates, as his postseason batting average dropped to .071 after going 0-for-4 on Thursday while stranding six runners. He’s fortunate others are picking him up, starting with Russell, who hit his home run right after Heyward struck out with Baez in scoring position. The focus can be on the positives, though, as the Cubs’ hitting woes seem to be behind them, at least for the moment. “I was just trying to find some gaps,” Russell said of his home run. “I was looking for something up in the zone to drive. First-pitch slider a little bit low. Second pitch was a slider, but it was elevated and I put the barrel on it, and it kind of went. But just rounding the bases it was pretty exciting. Pumped up. Not only for myself, but for the team and that little cushion that Jonny [Lester] had to go forward from that, and I felt really good.” Youth keeps being served over and over again in the postseason for the Cubs. While Baez has dazzled from Day 1, others have finally caught up. Russell is just the latest. “When Riz [Anthony Rizzo] and Addy [Russell] didn't start hot, everybody was asking about them,” Baez said. “And there you have it. They're both hot now. And we scored a lot of runs for our pitchers.” It’s all because the Cubs stayed the course, beginning with their young core, whose members play with equal parts flair and recklessness. Contreras had words with the umpires late in the game after earlier throwing up his hand in excitement running to first after getting a base hit. Meanwhile, Baez almost hurt his ankle flying around second on his bases-loaded double. Maddon will never ask his players to slow down or lose what makes them special -- and the team loves the attitude anyway. “We have a lot of talent on this team," Lester said, "but we have a lot of guys that are dirt-ballers that get down and get dirty and make a lot of plays and have some dirty at-bats for us, too." It’s a good description, but the Cubs also have a young shortstop who’s a bit more reserved and not as brash. He’s been thrust into the spotlight this postseason, first for slumping and then for breaking out of it in a dramatic way. What might Game 6 bring from the Cubs' flamboyant players as well as their quiet ones? It has been a roller coaster of excitement this week in Los Angeles, but you can imagine what Wrigley Field will look like.

“To go back home with the advantage is really important,” Zobrist said of the Cubs' 3-2 lead in the series. “You have to feel good about our chances against [Clayton] Kershaw on Saturday. We like our chances.” Asked what the key would be this weekend, Zobrist didn’t hesitate. It’s the same as it has been since the early days of spring training, as it especially applies to the Cubs' youth right now. They’ve emerged on the national stage in a big way. “Stay in the moment,” Zobrist said. “Like we’ve been doing this whole time.” -- ESPNChicago.com Jon Lester's October glare puts Dodgers on the ropes By Bradford Doolittle LOS ANGELES -- Jon Lester has been where the Chicago Cubs want to go, and this postseason he has done everything he can to help his inexperienced teammates get there. The "there" is of course the World Series, and with another vintage Lester playoff performance in Game 5, his club is one big step away from it. Chicago's 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday puts them up 3-2 in the National League Championship Series, with Game 6 on tap for Saturday at Wrigley Field and on the precipice of an epic celebration in Wrigleyville. But before the game, there was the usual talk about Lester's chronic issues with throwing to first base, and whether the Dodgers would try to exploit that during the game. They did. It didn't work. "It's certainly a credit to him," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I thought that when we did get a little bit of traffic I thought that we put a little pressure on him. But he's a great pitcher. He's a great pitcher who competes and finds ways to get outs when he needs to." Boy does he. Especially over the second half of the season. Los Angeles was 0-for-4 against Lester with runners in scoring position. Opposing batters are 1-for-8 overall in those spots during the playoffs. Since the All-Star break, postseason included, they are 7-for-68 -- an absurd .103 batting average. That's how much the big leads off base and the hitters showing bunt have thrown Lester off his game. Even the only run Lester allowed during his seven innings came on an out. "There's always plotting going on," Cubs manger Joe Maddon said. "And like I said before, the most important thing is that Jon throws the ball well to home plate. That's the important part." Lester tries to stay nonchalant about all, but the emotion he showed on the field betrayed his public face. Joc Pederson attempted to bunt his way on with two outs in the second. Lester fielded the ball out and threw him out at first with the bounce throw he has developed to help keep things under control. Before he stalked off the mound, he glared into the Dodgers' dugout. Other times, he pumped his fist demonstrably after getting out of an inning. When you're that clutch, why not be passionate about it? "I just get fired up getting outs," Lester said. "I don't care how it happens. So obviously not a great way to start the game with a walk. You know, just especially after we score one run in the beginning of the game. We can't allow free base runners, especially with what they're trying to do up there. I was just happy to get out of that inning more than anything. I play this game with emotion, and if it rubs people the wrong way, oh well." Somehow, the narrative of the Cubs' postseason has often centered around the ace pitchers they have struggled against. It's an issue that remains pertinent with the Dodgers sending Clayton Kerhsaw to the mound on Saturday and, if needed, Rich Hill will go in a Game 7 on Sunday. Behind them looms a suddenly rested elite closer in Kenley Jansen. But you know what? The Cubs have a dominant playoff pitcher as well. Lester. In this three playoff outings this October, he has allowed just two runs in 21 innings for a 0.86 ERA. According to research by ESPN Stats &

Information, Lester's playoff ERA during the wild-card era is the third-best of the 41 pitchers with at least 10 starts -- behind Madison Bumgarner and Curt Schilling. So maybe he can't throw to first base. As Lester pointed out, when you have players like Adrian Gonzalez trying to bunt for base hits -- which he did in Game 5 -- it actually plays to his advantage. And now that he has done his job, and put his team in position, he'll turn it over to the kids he has helped nurture along the way. "We're not going to run away from anything," Maddon said. "It's within our reach right now." -- ESPNChicago.com Addison Russell rocks L.A., puts Cubs win away from World Series By Bradford Doolittle LOS ANGELES -- One more win. Two great lefties. That’s what stands between the Chicago Cubs and history. Addison Russell’s two-run homer backed the latest sparkling postseason outing from Jon Lester as the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on Thursday. As the series shifts back to Wrigley Field for Game 6, the Cubs are one win away from their first National League pennant since 1945. After being shut out in back-to-back games, the Cubs have scored 18 runs in two nights to regain control of the National League Championship Series. The game was in some ways a continuation of Game 4, when Russell and Anthony Rizzo snapped out of postseason-long funks with six hits and five RBIs between them. Rizzo drove in the Cubs’ first run with a first-inning double off Kenta Maeda, and he later bunted for a hit against the Dodgers’ shift in the seventh. Beyond his tiebreaking home run in the sixth, Russell added a ninth-inning single. While the Cubs grabbed the early lead, they didn’t take full advantage of Maeda, who had faded down the stretch and hasn’t pitched deep into a start in more than a month. The Cubs stranded two men in the first inning and another in the second. They got the first two on in the fourth but again came up empty, though Maeda was pulled with two outs and Lester coming to the plate. The Dodgers tied the game in the fourth on an infield groundout from Adrian Gonzalez that was bobbled by Rizzo with Howie Kendrick on third and the infield drawn in. At that point, it looked like the Cubs’ lack of clutch hitting was going to be the story of the game. But then the electric Javier Baez led off the sixth with a single off Joe Blanton, the reliever who allowed Miguel Montero’s pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 at Wrigley Field. Baez stole second, but Jason Heyward struck out, dropping the Cubs to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Then Russell, who was 1 for his first 25 in the playoffs before his Game 4 breakout, drove a Blanton pitch 425 feet over the wall to dead center. The drive put the Cubs ahead 3-1 with Lester throwing well and spared Joe Maddon a looming tough decision about whether to hit for his top starter, as he did in Lester’s Game 1 start. Just as they did on Wednesday, the Cubs kept adding to their lead as the game progressed. They put five on the board in the eighth, the last three on a bases-clearing double from Baez. For Lester, making his 17th career postseason start, the outing continued an October to remember. He’s allowed just two runs over 21 innings (0.86 ERA) this postseason. While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts cycled through his bullpen, Lester pitched seven innings before handing off to the Cubs’ closing crew. Now comes the fun part: With the Cubs on the cusp of reaching their first World Series in 71 years, they must beat either Clayton Kershaw in Saturday's Game 6 or Rich Hill in a potential Game 7 on Sunday. The lefties both sported sub-2.00 ERAs during the season, and they have combined to shut out the Cubs for 13 innings in the NLCS.

The Cubs will face that daunting duo knowing that as a franchise they have gone 0-for-6 in potential NLCS-clinching games since divisional play was introduced in 1969. They were up 2-0 against San Diego in 1984 before dropping three straight in a best-of-five series, and repeated that history in 2003 when they blew a 3-1 lead against the then-Florida Marlins. No one said making history is easy, and the Cubs will counter with two pretty good pitchers of their own: Kyle Hendricks in Game 6 and Jake Arrieta if needed in Game 7. After responding to their biggest challenge of the season by taking the last two games at Dodger Stadium, the Cubs have never been better positioned to take a step they haven't taken in a long time. -- CSNChicago.com Messing With Jon Lester Gets Dodgers Nowhere As Cubs Move Closer To World Series By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – This isn’t some WikiLeaks bombshell: Jon Lester has the yips. It must be in every scouting report by now, the reminder to get inside his head and make him feel uncomfortable, forcing him to field his position, throw to first base and become distracted with the running game. It’s not a secret, since the Cubs have openly answered those questions for the last two years, a timeframe that has seen the beginning of Lester’s $155 million megadeal and back-to-back trips to the National League Championship Series. It’s just so much easier said than done. The Los Angeles Dodgers got cute and tried to toy with Lester, and now they are one loss away from going home for the winter and wondering how good they could have been with another No. 1 starter to pair with Clayton Kershaw. Lester did not look like someone you would want to mess with on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, channeling all that adrenaline into an 8-4 victory that gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in this NLCS. A big Game 5 performance means the Cubs could clinch their first NL pennant in 71 years by beating Kershaw on Saturday night at Wrigley Field, which would set up an irresistible World Series matchup against the Cleveland Indians. “I play this game with emotion,” Lester said. “And if it rubs people the wrong way, oh well.” A Dodgers team that can’t handle left-handed pitching (major-league-worst .622 OPS during the regular season) didn’t have any other answers for Lester, who unloaded 108 pitches and allowed only one run across seven intense innings. Lester’s first inning began with his only walk, throwing four straight balls to Kike Hernandez, who showed bunt and then danced and hopped off first base. Hernandez never scored and the diversionary tactics simply didn’t work. “It is what it is,” Lester said. “People have been doing it all year. I’d prefer Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson to try to bunt. They’re home-run guys. They hit 30 homers, so I’d rather them put the ball on the ground and let these guys try to field it and take my chances that way.” Lester didn’t let one of his infielders grab the ball Pederson bunted toward the left side of the mound, making a one-hop throw to first base to end the second inning. Lester looked back at the home dugout and gave the Dodgers a death stare. When Lester felt like he got squeezed and finally struck out Corey Seager swinging to end the third inning, he screamed, flexed his muscles and glared at umpire Alfonso Marquez behind the plate. The Dodgers did manufacture a run in the fourth inning with Howie Kendrick’s double down the left-field line, headfirst slide to steal third base (verified on replay review) and a Gonzalez groundball. But the Cubs have so many

ways to counteract anyone thinking about exploiting that weakness, from Lester’s quick delivery to personal catcher David Ross to changing tempos to the explosive stuff that made a Cy Young Award contender this year. “They’re trying to find a way to beat one of the best pitchers in the game, and I don’t blame ‘em for that,” Ross said. “They were trying to rattle him a little bit. We’ve dealt with that all year, so it’s nothing new. “I want them to bunt. I want them to give us free outs. That’s fine. We have great athletes in the infield. Guys are ready for it. “Every out matters in the playoffs, every pitch matters. And so you give one away, that’s one you’re not getting back.” There is also something about October that brings out the best in Lester, a money player who’s allowed two runs in 13 innings during this NLCS, to go along with his 1-0 win over Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants in the divisional round. Lester (.064 career batting average) even did an over-the-top bat flip after flying out to left field in the seventh inning, moments after NLCS LVP Joe Blanton gave up the go-ahead, two-run homer to Addison Russell, one of the dynamic young talents Theo Epstein’s baseball-operations group once sold the big-name free agent. The Cubs caught fire last year and won 97 games, but 2016 was really supposed to be The Year where The Plan came together. When Lester made his recruiting trip to Chicago to check out a last-place team just before Thanksgiving 2014, he kept telling Epstein: “They’re going to burn this city down again when we win the World Series.” Lester missed being on that 2004 team that forever changed the Boston Red Sox by two years, earning World Series rings in 2007 and 2013. Now the Cubs are on the verge of making history – and there will be no running from that. -- CSNChicago.com Anthony Rizzo/Javier Baez Antics Show How This Cubs Team Doesn’t Feel The Same Weight Of History By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – Within minutes of the last out on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, ESPN’s @SportsCenter account sent out a photo of Moises Alou at the Wrigley Field wall to more than 30 million Twitter followers: “The last time the Cubs were up 3-2 in an NLCS was Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS vs. the Marlins. Most remember it as ‘the Bartman Game.’” As Kerry Wood once said: “Irrelevant, dude.” Look, the Cubs still need to find a way to beat either Clayton Kershaw or Rich Hill this weekend, with Kenley Jansen resting and waiting for the multiple-inning saves. The obligatory description for Kershaw is “the best pitcher on the planet.” Hill’s lefty curveball – and “the perceptual velocity” of his fastball – freezes hitters. Jansen has a mystical cutter reminiscent of the great Mariano Rivera. The top-heavy part of this Los Angeles playoff pitching staff has held the Cubs to zero runs in 16.1 innings. But until proven otherwise, forget about this idea of a Cubs team weighed down by the history of a franchise that hasn’t played in the World Series since 1945. Just look at Javier Baez getting in Anthony Rizzo’s airspace during Game 5, the human-highlight-film second baseman standing right next to the All-Star first baseman as he caught a Kike Hernandez pop-up for the second out of the third inning.

It didn’t matter that this was a 1-0 game and MVP-ballot players Justin Turner and Corey Seager were coming up. This is what the 2016 Cubs do. Rizzo caught the ball, quickly flipped it underhand and it bounced off Baez’s chest – in front of a sellout crowd of 54,449 and a national Fox Sports 1 audience. “We always mess around,” Rizzo said at his locker inside a tight clubhouse jammed with media after an 8-4 win. “So I’m screaming: ‘Javy! Javy! I got it! I got it, Javy, I got it!’ “And usually he’ll yell at me: ‘Don’t miss it!’ Or I’ll yell at him: ‘Don’t miss it!’ “We do that a lot. If it’s a pop-up to him, I’ll go right behind him. It’s just little ways of slowing the game down and having fun, too.” Rizzo is a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman for a team that led the majors in defensive efficiency this year. As a super-utility guy, Baez got credit for 11 defensive runs saved in 383 innings at second base, or one less than co-leaders Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler, who each did it in almost 1,300 innings. “Sometimes when I call (Rizzo) off to get a fly ball, he starts talking to me,” Baez said. “I tell him: ‘Hey, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t move my head. You can touch me if you want. Just don’t move my head.’ “And I told him to be ready for it, because I was going to do the same thing. You just got to be focused on the fly ball. No matter what’s happening around you, you just got to catch it.” This isn’t about Bartman. It’s about a group of young, confident players who are growing up together and absolutely expect to be in this position. It’s manager Joe Maddon designing “Embrace The Target” T-shirts and telling them to show up to the ballpark whenever they want and then blow off batting practice. “For sure, we’re relaxed,” said Baez, who’s gone viral during these playoffs, the rest of the country witnessing his amazing instincts and flashy personality. “I’m relaxed when I play defense.” The thing is, Rizzo and Baez could be playing next to each other for the next five years, the same way Kris Bryant and Addison Russell will be anchoring the left side of the infield. This is how Rizzo introduced Russell to The Show when a natural shortstop tried to learn second base on the fly last year and track pop-ups in front of 40,000 people: “Hey, watch out for that skateboard behind you! Don’t trip!” “Oh yeah, we yell at each other all the time,” Rizzo said. “It’s just one of those things where you got to stay loose.” -- CSNChicago.com Jon Lester, Addison Russell Come Up Big To Put Cubs One Win From World Series By Tony Andracki LOS ANGELES - The Cubs' goal all year has been World Series or bust. They are now just one victory away from reaching the World Series for the first time in a generation (since 1945). The Cubs took commanding control of the National League Championship Series with an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in front of 54,449 fans in Chavez Ravine Thursday night. After setting a new franchise record for offensive futility in Game 3, the Cubs stormed back to take the last two games in L.A. and a 3-2 lead with the series heading back to Chicago. Jon Lester once again proved why the Cubs invested so much in him, tossing seven innings of one-run ball.

The Dodgers tried to throw Lester off his game with crazy leads, dancing off the bag and giving the veteran southpaw something to think about. "People have been doing it all year," Lester said. "I just got done saying earlier, I'd prefer Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson to try to bunt. They're home run guys. They hit 30 homers, so I'd rather them put the ball on the ground and let these guys try to field it and take my chances that way." But all that gamesmanship only netted one run off Lester - when Howie Kendrick doubled, stole third base and then scored on a grounder that Anthony Rizzo mishandled. Offensively, Addison Russell came through with the big blow for the second night in a row. Dexter Fowler led the game off with a single and Rizzo doubled him home, but the Cubs let too many other opportunities slip past them in the early innings. Until Russell's at-bat in the sixth. With the game tied 1-1 and Javy Baez standing on second base after a Jason Heyward strikeout, Russell deposited Joe Blanton's offering into the bleachers in left-center. "I was just trying to find some gaps," Russell said. "I was looking for something up in the zone to drive. First pitch slider a little bit low. Second pitch was a slider, but it was elevated and I put the barrel on it, and it kind of went. But just rounding bases it was pretty exciting. Pumped up. "Not only for myself, but for the team and that little cushion that Jonny had to go forward from that, and I felt really good." That was all Lester needed, but the Cubs tacked on anyways. Russell led off the eighth by Respecting 90 to force a Dodgers error and Willson Contreras followed with a single. After an Albert Almora sacrifice bunt, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant each legged out RBI infield singles to give the Cubs a more comfortable cushion. A few batters later, Baez created even more breathing room with a three-run double to make it an 8-1 ballgame. Lester now has a 2.50 career ERA in 119 postseason innings. This fall, he has an 0.86 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three playoff starts spanning 21 innings. The Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound against Clayton Kershaw in Game 6 at Wrigley Field Saturday night. "It's going to be a formidable event," said manager Joe Maddon. "Our guys will absolutely be ready for the moment. I promise you that. It's great. The city of Chicago has got to be buzzing pretty much right now. I expect a sellout at Wrigley. It will be a lot of fun." -- CSNChicago.com Joe Maddon Will Manage Cubs Aggressively Without Worrying About John Lackey’s Feelings By Patrick Mooney LOS ANGELES – The Cleveland Indians have already shown how to win a pennant with a shaky rotation, withstanding injuries to two frontline starters – Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar – and working around Trevor

Bauer’s freak drone accident. The bullpen has become such a dominant postseason theme that lights-out reliever Andrew Miller can become the ALCS MVP. Joe Maddon has already shown that he will be just as aggressive with the bullpen and manage the Cubs with a sense of urgency, even if it infuriates John Lackey and causes a scene on national TV. “You have to understand I’m dealing with some really highly-charged personalities here, guys that have been there, done that,” Maddon said Thursday. “They’re good and they’re very proud men, so I respect and understand all of that. But at the end of the day, it’s about more than just one person here and what we’re trying to get done. “You have to make some tough decisions and not everybody’s going to like them all the time. But in the moment, I thought it was the right thing to do, and so we did it.” Maddon took a deep breath and took the long way from the visiting dugout around the 2016 NLCS logo painted onto the grass on Wednesday night, understanding what would be waiting for him on the Dodger Stadium mound. Another classic Lackey Being Lackey reaction: “You’ve got to be (bleeping) kidding me.” The Cubs signed Lackey for these “Big Boy Games,” but Maddon didn’t trust a two-time World Series champion with a four-run lead, pulling him at 72 pitches after he walked the eighth (Andrew Toles) and ninth batters (pinch-hitter Andre Ethier) to begin the fifth inning, signaling for lefty Mike Montgomery to face the top of the Los Angeles lineup. “How I feel personally is irrelevant right now,” Lackey said after a 10-2 victory tied up what has been a classic best-of-seven series. “It was a great team win. Good to see our guys swing the bats well.” The bullpen is one of the first things Maddon thinks about as soon as he wakes up each morning. Where writing out the lineup takes around five minutes, he usually spends about an hour pregame thinking through matchups and possible situations. “It’s all about the bullpen,” Maddon said. “When’s too long? What’s the right time to get him out? You do not want to let that horse out the door right there. You don’t want to all of a sudden have them get even close to tying it up – or tying it up – and then attempt to make your moves. You have to be proactive.” Lackey had a strong regular season (11-8, 3.35 ERA) interrupted by a strained right shoulder that sidelined him from the middle of August until early September. Lackey lasted only four innings in the divisional round before the Cubs made that epic Game 4 comeback at AT&T Park and eliminated the San Francisco Giants. October, of course, is where Lackey expects to live up to his two-year, $32 million contract. “You can keep pushing,” Lackey said. “I’m not going to tell you what you want me to tell you.” Yes, Lackey sometimes shows up teammates and dismisses reporters on the days he pitches, but he’s a different guy within the clubhouse and the Cubs wanted this competitive attitude. Maddon saw it as Mike Scioscia’s bench coach when Lackey – as an Anaheim Angels rookie – beat Barry Bonds and the Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. “John gets angry,” Maddon said. “Again, it shouldn’t surprise anybody. (Umpire) Angel (Hernandez) behind home plate was feeling the wrath also. John vibrates at that frequency. You know that. He’s an edgy human being. He’s an edgy baseball player. So if you’re surprised by it, then that’s your fault. Johnny’s always been like that.” -- CSNChicago.com Clayton Kershaw The Latest To Compare Kyle Hendricks To Greg Maddux By Tony Andracki

LOS ANGELES - The best pitcher on the planet (besides Andrew Miller) compared Kyle Hendricks to the best pitcher of a generation. Clayton Kershaw will go up against Hendricks for the second time in the National League Championship Series in Game 6 Saturday at Wrigley Field and the Dodgers ace said he sees a little Greg Maddux in the young right-hander. "He's kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation, with his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball and put him in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it, but you can't put the barrel on it," Kershaw said before Thursday's Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. "He's really good at mixing speeds, changing it up. He's a tough guy to go against, for sure." That's some high praise from a guy who's won three NL Cy Youngs (2011, 2013, 2014) and tallied four straight ERA titles from 2011-14. Maddux won 355 games over a 23-year career and took home four straight Cy Youngs from 1992-95, a span in which he had a ridiculous .721 winning percentage (75-29) and 1.98 ERA. Hendricks, of course, is in the Cy Young running this season and paced the big leagues with a 2.13 ERA. In Game 2 at Wrigley Field, the two pitchers squared off in a pretty epic duel. The Dodgers wound up winning 1-0 on a second-inning wind-aided homer by Adrian Gonzalez. During the regular season, pitchers usually dismiss the notion that they're going up against the other starter, talking more about pitching to the opposing lineup than trying to match the other guy on the mound. But in the postseason, runs are fewer and farther between, so pitching matchups come to the forefront. "In the playoffs, it is a little more between the pitchers than it would be in the regular season," Hendricks said. "I only say that because regular season, you don't really look at it at all. "In playoffs, you definitely look at it. I think that's the difference there, especially when you're going up against a guy like Kershaw. You know he's over there, so it makes it fun." Kershaw shut down the Cubs - and the whole can't-pitch-in-the-postseason narrative - and gave his team a big lift in Game 2, silencing the Wrigley crowd. Instead of going on short rest in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, the club opted to keep Kershaw in their back pocket and try to neutralize the 40,000-plus Cubs fans in Game 6. "He could definitely negate a phone booth," Maddon said. "This guy, when he's pitching well, he's just that good. There is that certain set of pitchers that are that guy and the confidence he brings to their group. "There is no question about that. But at this time of the year, if you wanted to get to your ultimate goal, you have to beat people like that. You have to." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs gain one-game edge in NLCS with 8-4 victory over Dodgers By Mark Gonzales The tension turned to relief and heightened anticipation Thursday night as soon as Addison Russell's drive cleared the center-field wall.

Russell's two-run homer in the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and gave Jon Lester much-deserved run support as the Cubs ran away to an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers. The triumph at a warm Dodger Stadium gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. The emotions will be much higher Saturday night, as the Cubs face left-handed ace Clayton Kershaw at Wrigley Field for the chance to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1945 and win their first series since 1908. "We know about the history," Dexter Fowler said. "We want to make history." Lester continued his mastery of the Dodgers with seven innings of five-hit ball. In 28 innings against the Dodgers this season, Lester has allowed only three runs on 16 hits while striking out 25. Before Russell's homer, the Cubs were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and as ineffective as they were in their Game 2 and 3 shutout setbacks. The Cubs scored five times in the eighth to easily distance themselves from the Dodgers and rid themselves of the frustration of not expanding their lead earlier. The Cubs failed to expand a lead in the first after Fowler singled and scored on Anthony Rizzo's double off starter Kenta Maeda as Javier Baez and Jason Heyward struck out to end the threat. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was taking no chances, even with the knowledge Kershaw is starting Game 6. He pulled Maeda with two out and two on in the fourth with Lester up. The move paid off when Josh Fields retired Lester on a fly to left. But in the sixth, the Cubs were able to get their second timely homer of this series off Blanton, who surrendered a tiebreaking grand slam to Miguel Montero in Game 1. This time it was Russell, who also had a key two-run home run in the Game 4 triumph. "The starters start feeling a little sexy at the plate, which is great," Montero said. Roberts said before the game that the Dodgers would try to get into Lester's psyche, and emotions ran high from the time Lester walked Enrique Hernandez to open the bottom of the first. Hernandez took huge leads but didn't attempt to steal, as Lester would counter by holding the ball longer before throwing to the plate or stepping off the mound. Lester, however, was in no mood for the Dodgers tricks as he fielded a Joc Pederson bunt and threw a one-bouncer to first for the final out of the second before turning to stare at the Dodgers dugout. Lester was visibly upset after not getting a strike call on two pitches to Corey Seager before fanning him to end the third and then yelling in the direction of home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. The inability to hold runners closely finally caught up with Lester in the fourth when Howie Kendrick lined a double to left and stole third with the benefit of a 30-foot lead. The Cubs brought the infield in and Adrian Gonzalez hit a grounder to first. But Rizzo momentarily bobbled the ball, enabling Kendrick to score the tying run. That was the first run the Dodgers scored off Lester this season that wasn't a home run. But Lester pitched with plenty of zip and determination, as he struck out Gonzalez on a 95 mph pitch in the second and whiffed Hernandez on a big-breaking curve to end the fifth. The Dodgers, who had scored only two runs on 11 hits while striking out 19 times in 21 innings against Lester this season, fielded an unusual lineup. Carlos Ruiz, who was 0-for-16 lifetime against Lester, batted cleanup but went

hitless in three at-bats. Justin Turner, who was 0-for-17 against Lester, remained in the second spot and went 1-for-3 against him. The Cubs piled on in the eighth inning, adding five runs on four hits against the Dodgers fifth and sixth pitchers of the night. -- Chicago Tribune NLCS drama shifts back to Wrigley with Cubs on verge of World Series By Paul Sullivan The National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Dodgers has been as good as advertised, even if critic-at-large John Lackey isn't crazy about the coverage. "You guys dramatize everything," the Cubs starter complained Wednesday after their Game 4 victory. In order to make Lackey happy, it's probably best to downplay all the drama in the Cubs' 8-4 win in Game 5, the one that gave them a 3-2 series lead and sends them back to Wrigley Field on Saturday with a chance to clinch their first pennant since 1945. Jon Lester may have pitched seven brilliant, fist-pumping innings to put the Cubs one win from nirvana. Or, in less dramatic terms, perhaps he was just doing the job he's paid to do. Addison Russell may have cranked a two-run, go-ahead home run to center while wearing Matt Szczur's leggings, one day after Anthony Rizzo homered and had three hits with Szczur's bat. Or maybe the Cubs just like borrowing Szczur's stuff. Javier Baez may have saved the day with a couple magician-like plays at second. Or maybe he's just in the right place at the right time. Whatever the narrative, the Cubs were preparing for a crazy Saturday night in Wrigleyville, where Clayton Kershaw faces Kyle Hendricks and the drama outside the ballpark figures to be as high as the drama inside. "We can't focus on the atmosphere outside, or what's going on down on Clark Street," catcher David Ross said. "We've got to worry about Clayton Kershaw and how to attack him and stay pitch to pitch in our own little cocoon here." Thinking about the World Series is a dream that won't be talked about until it's done. "It'd be foolish of us to get ahead of ourselves," Kris Bryant said. "Because anytime you think like that it never goes the way you want it to." Manager Joe Maddon, who seemingly studied at the Lee Strasberg school of method acting, was playing it cool before the game, talking about the need to score first again and give the starters some breathing room. "Just moving forward, man, yeah, we want to keep scoring runs," Maddon said. "But I have a lot of confidence in our starters that if we're not, they're going to keep it in check too." The Cubs scored in the first on Rizzo's RBI double, but the Dodgers tied it in the fourth on Adrian Gonzalez's run-scoring grounder that Rizzo, playing in, couldn't handle. Still, Lester kept the Dodgers in check long enough for Russell to put the Cubs ahead with second home run in as many nights, a two-run blast off Joe Blanton in the sixth that made it 3-1. Maddon, who lifted Lester after 77 pitches in his Game 1 start of the NLCS, stuck with his ace into the seventh, allowing him to throw 107 pitches before lifting him for a pinch hitter.

Teams that have won Game 5 of a seven-game series tied at 2-2 have gone on to win the series 70 percent of the time (40 of 57). But Game 5 had never been kind to the Cubs, at least since the dawn of the LCS in 1969. The Cubs were 0-3 in Game 5s of the NLCS, and all three were memorable disasters. They led the Padres 3-2 in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 1984 NLCS when Tim Flannery's grounder went through Leon Durham's legs, bringing in the tying run in a 6-3 loss that sent the Padres to the World Series. In 1989 against the Giants, Mike Bielecki walked the bases loaded with two outs in a 1-1 tie, before closer Mitch Williams gave up a two-run single Will Clark, sending the Giants to the World Series. In 2003, with the Cubs looking to clinch in Miami with a 3-1 series lead, Marlins starter Josh Beckett threw a two-hit shutout, striking out 11 to send it back to Chicago for Game 6. Long story short — it didn't end well. For a while, this Game 5 was just as mesmerizing and nail-biting as the other three — sorry, Lackey — and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts added to the intrigue by trying to get into Lester's head before it even began. Roberts said the Dodgers would use "gamesmanship" to get to Lester, taking big leads and bunting to take advantage of the pitcher's issues with throwing to bases. "We've seen just about every trick in the book this year of trying to mess with him," Ross said. "So when they do it, it kind of fires him up and gets him every more locked in. You saw that tonight. He really dialed it up." Lester passed his first test, even though he short-armed a throw to first on a Joc Pederson comebacker in the second. The one-hop throw still got to Rizzo in time for the out, and Lester glared into the Dodgers dugout while stalking off the mound. The Dodgers managed only five hits off Lester, who was aided by some more fielding gems by Baez, not including the catch of a ball thrown off his chest by Rizzo in jest from a couple feet away. Rizzo was messing with Baez, who came close to him on a popup. Meanwhile, Szczur may be the first MVP to not even play in the postseason after telling the Fox broadcasters Russell borrowed his leggings. "It's funny, (Ben Zobrist) was like 'Hey, what have you got for me?'" Szczur said. "The same day everything came out, they ended up breaking out of their slumps, and it just happened to be with my stuff. It's good karma. I feel like a lot of things happen for a reason." It was that kind of a night, and that kind of a series. More may be in store for Game 6 on Saturday. No drama, please. -- Chicago Tribune Jon Lester's intensity sets tone as Cubs sit at doorstep of history By David Haugh On his way off the Dodger Stadium mound after making a one-hop throw to thwart a bunt attempt to end the second inning Thursday night, Cubs starter Jon Lester shot a purposeful stare back at the Dodgers dugout. Try me.

After striking out Corey Seager for the third out of the third, Lester pumped his fist twice and swore loudly in the direction of plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, who squeezed the strike zone during Seager's at-bat. The look on Lester's face was just as expressive. Not tonight. Whenever the Cubs needed a big pitch in a huge 8-4 victory in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, their ace delivered. As the night grew longer, Lester simply got better. The Dodgers arrived with a game plan of getting inside Lester's head. The Cubs will return to Wrigley Field with a 3-2 series lead and one victory from their first World Series in 71 years due, in large part, to Lester's heart. If that thought sends adrenaline coursing through your veins, Cubs fans, now you know how excited Lester felt fearlessly taking the ball with a historical burden and the Dodgers bearing down on him. The emotion the typically reserved Lester showed early created an intensity level that Cubs teammates matched, a collective response to the urgency of this October moment. There's no way the Cubs wanted to leave Southern California and spend the next two days knowing they had to face Clayton Kershaw on Saturday in a win-or-go-home scenario. Now they don't have to, thanks to Lester giving up one run in seven gutsy innings and shortstop Addison Russell coming through in the clutch again. "I just get fired up getting outs. I don't care how it happens," Lester said. "I play this game with emotion, and if it rubs people the wrong way, oh, well." Emotions swung heavily when, with the score tied at 1 in the sixth, Russell drilled an 0-1 pitch off reliever Joe Blanton 419 feet to center for his second home run in as many nights. And for the second straight night, Cubs bats woke up after his homer. "I was looking for something up in the zone to drive ... it was elevated and it kind of went," Russell said. "Rounding the bases, I was pumped up. It felt really good." If Kershaw is the pitcher the Cubs most fear in the NLCS, Blanton is the one they want to welcome. Four days after giving up a pinch grand slam to Miguel Montero, Blanton served up the home-run pitch to Russell. No truth to the rumor the Cubs offered to pay for Blanton's suite in Chicago over the weekend just to make him comfortable. Speaking of getting comfy, the Dodgers did their best early to keep Lester from feeling too relaxed and developing a rhythm. Manager Dave Roberts made no secret of his game plan to force Lester to field his position and think about making throws to first that he dreads more than facing hitters. "We're going to get huge leads and try to bunt on them and try to get in his psyche a little bit," Roberts said. It started with leadoff batter Kike Hernandez, who faked bunt and walked on four pitches. Hernandez took a giant lead and danced around so much, ESPN Radio analyst Aaron Boone said, "It's almost like a skit." It brought out the fire in Lester after he fielded Joc Pederson's bunt and let the Dodgers know he was ready for whatever they had in mind. The only thing more obvious than Lester's confidence was his command, which remained through his 107th pitch to end the seventh. Lester coaxed pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal, who had homered in Game 3 and represented the potential tying run, into grounding out with a runner on first. Knowing he was done, Lester pumped his fist again on his way to the dugout, where he hugged grateful teammates. As manager Joe Maddon suggested, the Cubs were the Cubs again.

"Our guys will absolutely be up for the moment," Maddon said of Game 6. "The city of Chicago is going to be buzzing." The momentum from Wednesday's 10-run outburst carried over when Dexter Fowler led off the game with a single and scored on Anthony Rizzo's double. Rizzo was again borrowing Matt Szczur's bat, giving him four straight hits since making the switch. All hail Szczur's bat. Regret surfaced in the fourth when the Cubs stranded two runners after Roberts made a curious decision involving a starting pitcher that has become commonplace in this series. Oddly, with two out and two on, Roberts pulled Kenta Maeda after he had given up one run and three hits on 76 pitches and inserted reliever Josh Fields to face Lester, who joked Wednesday about his hitting. Lester flied out to left. Howie Kendrick started the fourth ripping a double down the third-base line and aggressively stole third. Initially called out, a replay review showed Kendrick's hand touched third before Bryant applied the tag. It cost the Cubs when Kendrick, breaking for home at the crack of the bat, scored the tying run after Rizzo couldn't cleanly handle Adrian Gonzalez's grounder. It wouldn't matter, not with the offense revitalized. After Bryant doubled to center over Pederson's head in the fifth, Roberts brought in lefty Grant Dayton, who struck out Rizzo and retired Ben Zobrist to end the threat. When Roberts hinted pregame he would take an "all hands on deck" approach to Game 5 with a day off Friday, he wasn't kidding. The Dodgers went deep into their bullpen, using six relievers. Lester reached deep within himself. The difference was the Cubs putting themselves on the doorstep of history. And they show no signs of tripping now. -- Chicago Tribune Matt Szczur’s underwear a good-luck charm for Addison Russell By Paul Skrbina Turns out bats aren’t the only thing Matt Szczur donates to teammates. Underwear also is on the list. The Cubs utility player, who has not been on the postseason roster through the first two rounds, has become something of a slump-buster in his non-playing role. After starting the postseason 2-for-26 at the plate, Anthony Rizzo began using Szczur’s bats Wednesday during the team’s 10-2 win in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and had three hits, including a home run. He had two more hits in Thursday’s 8-4 victory. Addison Russell also was struggling at the plate until Wednesday. He was 1-for-24 until he snagged Szczur’s leggings, which are spandex shorts players wear under their uniforms. In the two games since, he has five hits, including two home runs. “My underwear,” Szczur said with a grin. “People broke out of their slumps and it just so happened to be with my stuff. I feel like a lot of things happen for a reason.” His teammates aren’t pillaging his locker in search of good-luck charms just yet. But the day might be coming. “’Zobi (Ben Zobrist) was like, ‘Hey, Szcz, what do you got for me?’” Szczur said.

-- Chicago Tribune Cubs, Javier Baez survive injury scare during NLCS Game 5 win By Mark Gonzales For a brief moment, it looked as if the Cubs would have to reach deep to finish off the Dodgers in this best-of-seven National League Championship Series. That's because Javier Baez limped before retreating to second base after hitting a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning of an 8-4 victory Thursday night to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the series. Baez, who is hitting .368 in the series in addition to providing dazzling defense, needed medical attention as he grabbed his ankle. Fortunately for the Cubs, Baez felt OK and finished the rest of the game at second base. "I'm good," Baez said. "I just think I overran (second base) a little bit. I saw (right fielder) Yasiel Puig bobble the ball, and I was trying to go (to third). "I was just trying to run a little bit harder than I do. I felt something in my ankle, but I'm fine." -- Chicago Tribune Clayton Kershaw not thinking too deeply about 'magnitude' of Game 6 By Colleen Kane Clayton Kershaw picked up his first career save last week in Washington. Now the Dodgers need their ace to save their season in Chicago. Kershaw will start Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Cubs on Saturday night with elimination on the line after an 8-4 Cubs victory in Game 5 on Thursday. The Dodgers opted to give Kershaw an extra day of rest after he was used heavily in the division series — with two starts and his huge relief appearance against the Nationals. But that meant Game 5 went to rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda and a string of relievers who couldn't hold down the Cubs as they brought themselves within one victory of their first World Series berth since 1945. Kershaw said he wouldn't use the word "excitement" to describe his mindset going into Saturday. So what is the right word? "I don't know — such a deep thought," he said. "I don't know if I have a word for it. But you do everything you can to try to keep it just like another start. Then obviously the magnitude and the situation of the game kind of raises everybody's adrenaline." The Dodgers don't need a deep thought from their ace as the series returns to Wrigley Field — just another clutch performance. Kershaw has pitched in his fair share of big games in 17 career playoff appearances, but he knows the energy level at Wrigley Field this weekend is going to be turned up several notches even from when he pitched in Game 2. "Obviously the fans are pretty excited about their team this year, and rightfully so," Kershaw said. "They have been waiting a long time for them to win. … Pitching on the road is obviously different, but you try and keep it the same

as possible. D.C. was one of the louder environments that I've pitched in. So I have gotten to do that now a few times. I guess I'm as prepared as I'll ever be for that." Kershaw, who plans to go to Dodger Stadium before the team's flight to Chicago on Friday to do early work, said he told Dodgers manager Dave Roberts he was willing to pitch either Game 5 or 6. But instead the Dodgers called on Maeda, who had allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and five walks in seven innings in his first two postseason starts against the Nationals and the Cubs. "If he can get ahead of hitters and expand, he's really good," Roberts said. "But with any pitcher, if you start working behind and hitters start smelling blood, it gets to be a little bit tougher." Maeda was behind in the count often in the first inning as the Cubs took an early 1-0 lead on Dexter Fowler's leadoff single and Anthony Rizzo's RBI double to right field. He then struck out Javier Baez on a questionable called third strike and Jason Heyward to strand two runners on base. The Cubs threatened again in the fourth when Baez doubled and Heyward took a pitch off his hip. Maeda recorded the next two outs before Roberts decided to make it an early bullpen night, and right-hander Josh Fields prompted pitcher Jon Lester to fly out to strand the runners. After the Dodgers tied it in the fourth, Dodgers reliever Joe Blanton gave up a two-run homer to Addison Russell in the sixth. The Cubs used a five-run eighth inning to pull away. -- Chicago Tribune Wrigleyville becoming refined, redefined By Kathy Bergen, William Lee and Patrick M. O'Connell Sluggers World Class Sports Bar and Grill, a cavernous Wrigleyville watering hole, used to spend $20,000 a year on ballpark advertising. But several years after the Ricketts family bought the Cubs in 2009, that relationship ended. "All of a sudden, they didn't want our money anymore," said Zach Strauss, co-owner of the 32-year-old family business. "They only want the million-dollar deals." Don't get him wrong. Strauss is grateful to the Ricketts family for keeping the Cubs at Wrigley and building a winning team. But there's a lingering wariness. "If I saw any of the Ricketts, I would sit down and I'd like to have a drink with them ... but I wouldn't like to sit down in an office setting, at a table, talking business," he said with a laugh. Indeed, an uneasiness pervades the neighborhood around the 102-year-old ballpark, where the grinding and clanking of construction equipment is a constant reminder that radical change is coming to an area long known as a rough-around-the-edges mishmash of sports bars, convenience stores and fast-food joints for those on beer budgets. "The master plan is to redefine Wrigleyville a bit," Crane Kenney, the Cubs' president of business operations, said on a recent ESPN podcast recorded at Sluggers. "Wrigleyville does the bar business pretty well," he said, adding, "What's missing — and particularly for our professional clients, our corporate guys — is, 'Where do I take a client to dinner before the game? Where can I go afterward and have a cocktail but also a conversation and maybe not fight a large crowd?'

"And so our vision is to create a little bit of a different feel for Wrigleyville north of Addison, where it becomes more of a white-tablecloth experience, something with a little upper-end feel to it," he said. To fulfill that vision, the Ricketts family has dug into its deep pockets, spending $750 million to upgrade the ballpark and surrounding neighborhood — all with the aim of creating a year-round tourist magnet. And that's just the beginning. Consider the changes already underway. To the immediate west of the ballpark, a tony 180-room Starwood Hotel will rise, anchored by several stylish local restaurants — "the best of the best," Kenney said in the podcast. To the northwest, an open-air plaza will serve as a game-day beer garden, a farmers market and a winter ice rink, all bordered by a new office and retail complex that will sport a huge video screen. On the southeast corner, a retail and entertainment annex will be built. In addition, companies controlled by the billionaire family have snapped up 10 of the 16 rooftop clubs on Sheffield and Waveland avenues, the side streets along the ballpark's eastern and northern edges, respectively. Many in the neighborhood are convinced that the family's ultimate goal is to close off those streets the way the Boston Red Sox did at Fenway Park, carving a baseball-themed entertainment district out of a residential urban landscape first developed more than a century ago. The Ricketts family, which has made no secret of its admiration for the Fenway revival, remains coy about its intentions. "Our focus now is getting to the World Series and winning," said Dennis Culloton, a family spokesman. And it's not just the Ricketts family pushing the changes. Independent developers are erecting a sprawling project along the ballpark's southern edge, aiming to finish in 2018. The "Addison & Clark" project will include 148 luxury apartments, a cinema complex, stores, a fitness club and a mix of restaurants, fast-food and upscale. The cherry on top of all this renovation could be a Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Wrigley, the first since 1990 — a possibility that the commissioner, Rob Manfred, has endorsed. The next available slot is 2019. But to some longtime Wrigleyville residents, the rumble of redevelopment comes at a steep cost — rising rents, increased traffic congestion and noise, parking shortages, higher property tax bills and a loss of the neighborhood's funky, eclectic flavor. It all adds up to profound change in the neighborhood where a young Tom Ricketts — an Omaha, Neb., native living above a bar across from Wrigley — was so taken with the Cubs and its environs that he persuaded his father to finance the club's purchase. "I'm ready to get out," said Jane Bosco, a nurse who owns a rowhouse on Alta Vista Terrace, a graceful historic block just north of the park. "The feeling is different. It's all about the business. "We can go to community meetings and voice our opinions, but (the developers) are going to do what they are going to do," she said recently, standing amid potted herbs in her small front garden. To another neighborhood resident, David Dalka, "It's almost as if (the Ricketts family) owns everything within a half-mile of the ballpark and are making all the decisions." Business owners have been loathe to criticize the Ricketts family publicly, alternately cowed by the team's control and buoyed by the franchise's success. But privately, some express worries that the family is out to capture every entertainment dollar spent in the area — a legitimate concern, said one expert in sports-related development.

While local governments nationwide used to provide public financing for stadiums, more recently the trend has been to give indirect support — city approvals for projects surrounding the stadiums that let team owners capture more spending by fans, said Robert Baade, economics professor at Lake Forest College. "What team (owners) are doing is appropriating 100 percent of the significant revenue streams," he said. "In this case, we're talking about reallocating expenditures away from other business entities." Already, the Ricketts family has won city approvals for a raft of revenue-producing projects, including its outdoor advertising signs, the hotel and restaurant project, and the ability to serve alcohol on the plaza. The city also agreed to narrow Sheffield by 10 feet to make room for expansion of a right-field fan deck and a bar and grill at the southeast corner of the stadium, charging $3.75 million for the provision. And in a move that protects the family's interests around the park, the city banned food-cart vendors from ballpark sidewalks. The owners also won $75 million in federal tax credits to help renovate the historic ballpark. It's all part of a plan that the Ricketts family unapologetically says is essential if the Cubs are to generate enough cash to field a consistently competitive team and refresh the ballpark and its environs. "No one has ever had to work harder for the right to spend $750 million in private dollars in the city of Chicago than the Rickettses," said Culloton, the family spokesman, referring to the lengthy negotiations with the city. Those projects, he said, will create jobs and spur additional economic activity in the area. Two blocks north of Wrigley Field, for instance, Myron Mixon, a well-known barbecue chef, this week opened an eponymous, 200-seat restaurant where the Piano Man bar, a neighborhood fixture, had been. The space has been vacant since the bar closed in 2014. Part of the site's appeal, said one of the deal brokers, was the Ricketts family's investment around Wrigley. "Something like that expands the boundaries that much further north," said Jarrett Fradin, a senior broker at Kudan Group. "You can see the spaces filling in." Ald. Tom Tunney, whose 44th Ward is home to Wrigley Field and who has publicly wrangled with the team, now sees the investment in the neighborhood as a boon — something that will enliven the area year-round. Some local business owners have come around too, among them Sam Sanchez, who owns three food-and-beverage establishments on Clark Street, just south of Wrigley, including the John Barleycorn pub. "We were worried," he recalls, "But once we saw the hotel, the restaurants and the development come to life, we felt more comfortable." He hopes new businesses will help establish the area as a trendy dining destination. And with the Cubs drawing 40,000 fans per game, "I think there's a lot for all of us," he said. Some neighbors welcome the shifting mix of commerce. Upscale restaurants and a movie theater would be a good fit in a neighborhood where people spend thousands of dollars keeping up their properties, said Ken Becker, who moved to the city from the suburbs eight years ago. "The boutique hotel, I could care less about one way or the other," he said. "But I think the more important thing is we've got enough bars. It would be nice to get a lot more restaurants around here, places to eat rather than burger joints." Another resident, Tricia Rapacz, is hoping the transformation will change the visitor mix too. "You're going to bring in a different clientele than maybe you brought in before," she said as she pushed her 7-month-old son in a stroller. "So instead of the person who gets really drunk and passes out on the street, you might get a person who's a little more refined."

Still, Tunney acknowledges that the development comes at a price. The Cubs came out of the talks with "a very luxurious sign package" that may add some Times Square-type glitz to the neighborhood. "People will say, 'How did that get done?'" he said. "It was in lieu of public financing." Another question is what the Ricketts family will do with the rooftop clubs it is acquiring on Sheffield and Waveland — and how that will affect existing businesses. Tunney opposes closing off the streets permanently. "We've tried to give them those opportunities in the plaza because it's important for the community to keep streets open to the public," he said. Tom Ricketts, chief architect of the massive overhaul that is underway, envisions the day when Wrigley and its surrounding neighborhood will hold the appeal of a European plaza — one where tourists are drawn to the mere dramatic presence of a landmark. Only in this case, it's not the ancient St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, it's Wrigley. To Janet Marie Smith, an architect who played a key role in the remake of Fenway Park and is now overseeing Dodger Stadium renovations, the goal makes perfect sense. "Fans look to ballparks as cathedrals," she said. "That's not an accident. We go to 81-plus games a year, so there's a very different homey feeling, a familiar feeling about baseball parks. It's different than other sports." Tom Ricketts' vision already is unfolding this year as Cubs mania rises to a fever pitch. Caitlyn Capparelli was on a weekend trip from Boston, taking in the sights. She and her friends visited the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park and the soaring Willis Tower, and they ate lots of pizza. On Sunday, during the National League Championship Series, Capparelli was among the crowd outside Wrigley Field even though she did not have tickets. Just seeing the ballpark itself and the surrounding neighborhood was the draw, she said. "If there were other things to do here, it'd be even more of an incentive to come visit and spend time here," Capparelli, 23, said amid the revelry on the street. In Boston, Capparelli often visits the neighborhood near Fenway Park, where the bars and restaurants top off a day of shopping. But for some Wrigleyville residents who already are coping with hordes of fans, the prospect of heightened year-round activity is not appealing. "I guess it's good for Chicago but bringing in more people will mean more congestion," said Bosco, the nurse who is contemplating moving from her home on Alta Vista Terrace. The prospect of leaving saddens her. Looking down the tree-shaded block of London-style town homes where she has lived for 17 years, she said, "My neighbors are like family." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks prepares for big stage By Paul Skrbina The more the stakes change, the more Kyle Hendricks tries to stay the same. Baseball's ERA leader will face arguably baseball's best pitcher in Clayton Kershaw when his Cubs take on the Dodgers on Saturday night in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field. Hendricks said he doesn't pay attention to all the extra attention the postseason draws and tries to keep it simple.

"This is still the same game," he said. "You're making the same pitches. It's the same lineup. There's just more going on (on) the outside. "(The attention) has nothing to do with the job you have to do when you go out there." Hendricks has received quite a bit more attention this season. He had a 2.13 ERA and was 16-8, ascending from fifth starter to No. 2 by the time the postseason arrived. As for Hendricks' arrival, it came much earlier this season, and much earlier than he anticipated. "These are the best hitters in the world," Hendricks said earlier this season. "To see it come this quick, I wouldn't expect anything like this at this point in my career. "You come in with goals. Once you exceed those you start looking forward to where you can go." And so here he is, the California kid with an economics degree from Dartmouth, ready to pitch what promises to be the most important game of his career Saturday. And there's no place like home when it comes to comfort for Hendricks. The right-hander is 15-6 with a 2.24 ERA in 2211/3 innings at Wrigley in his career. He has given up just 14 home runs and has 197 strikeouts and a 1.008 WHIP to his name. "It's just the consistent feel, the consistent look," Hendricks said. "I know everywhere I have to go. It's the same visual in the bullpen, the same visual when you get on the mound. I'm a routine-oriented guy, so consistency is big for me." And Hendricks' consistency has been big for the Cubs. Earlier this season, Cubs left-hander Jon Lester, a front-runner for the Cy Young Award, said if he had a vote, it would go to Hendricks. Hendricks received more praise Thursday from Kershaw, owner of three Cy Young Awards. "He had an amazing year," Kershaw said. "He's kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation, with his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball and put it in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it but you can't put the barrel on it. "He's a tough guy to go against, for sure." -- Chicago Tribune Willson Contreras says he is an 'emotional player' after Game 5 incidents By Mark Gonzales Cubs rookie Willson Contreras attracted plenty of attention Thursday night, and not just for his hitting. Contreras raised his right hand while running to first base after getting a single off hard-throwing reliever Pedro Baez in the eighth inning of the Cubs' 8-4 victory over the Dodgers. “I’m an emotional player," Contreras said. "I was excited to hit. (Baez) was throwing 99, 98 (mph). It’s not easy to hit. It was an adjustment reaction."

After the game, Contreras was involved in an animated discussion with home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, but Contreras said the talk wasn't as tense as it appeared. "It's part of the game," said Contreras, who caught the final two innings. "I just want to help my pitchers. A couple pitches I thought (were strikes). After we had words, we cleared the air and look forward to working again." -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs beat Dodgers to reach brink of first World Series since 1945 By Gordon Wittenmyer LOS ANGELES – Deciding against ace Clayton Kershaw for Game 5, the Dodgers instead sent out the ghosts against the Cubs on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. But Jon Lester was nine months old when Steve Garvey kept the Cubs out of the World Series in 1984. And Addison Russell was in fourth grade when Eric Karros stood at first base for the double-play relay that never came in that fateful eighth inning in 2003. How do you believe in ghosts when you can’t see them? By the time Garvey and Karros got done whipping the Dodger Stadium crowd into a pregame frenzy with a surprise introduction of broadcasting legend Vin Scully, Lester and Russell quickly got to work putting the Cubs on the brink of silencing 71 years of much bigger franchise ghosts. Lester continued his October of dominance for the Cubs with seven more shutdown innings, and Russell hit his second big home run in as many nights as the Cubs beat the Dodgers 8-4 Thursday night to take a commanding 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. “The city of Chicago’s got to be buzzing pretty much right now,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. For the third time since 1945 – first since they were famously five outs away in 2003 – the Cubs are one victory from the World Series as they head home for Game 6 on Saturday night. “Like Rizz said, it’s gonna be epic,” said third baseman Kris Bryant, who had two more hits in this one. “It’s certainly gonna be loud and fun. The cool thing about Wrigley is all the fans are right on top of you. You feel the energy more than the bigger stadiums. We’re certainly going to feed off it.” And if the apparent imminence of the first Cubs World Series since integration represents another historic hurdle – a target, even – Maddon said it’s something his team plans to embrace like they did the favorite’s target this season. “That’s been our goal all year,” he said. “Now that we’re very close to it, I want us to go out and play the same game. We’re not going to run away from anything. It’s within our reach right now. I want to go after it like, `Lets just go play our Saturday game and see how it falls.’ “ They’ll face Kershaw in Game 6, but thanks to Thursday’s late-inning outburst, their long-elusive World Series does not depend on beating the best pitcher in baseball. “You’d much rather go home under those circumstances than the other,” Maddon said. “It’ll be a formidable event. “Nothing has been decided obviously,” he added. “We have to go back home and play our ‘A’ game.” Rookie Willson Contreras seems oblivious to the historic weight of the weekend at Wrigley Field.

“Probably a lot of people think that we as young players are gonna put pressure on ourselves,” he said. “We don’t have pressure on ourselves. We’re just trying to do our best. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he added of the chance at a World Series. “Now I think it’s time to show that we can play baseball our way.” The Cubs backed up Lester’s shutdown pitching with seven late-inning runs to rout the Dodgers for the second consecutive game after falling behind 2-1 in the series. Lester, who started both Game 1 victories for the Cubs this postseason, went seven strong, allowing just one in the fourth, never trailing. Russell, who snapped out of a postseason-long slump Wednesday, hit the two-run homer in the sixth that put the Cubs ahead, before they added five more in a sloppy eighth inning by the Dodgers. “Just rounding the bases it was pretty exciting,” Russell said. “I was pumped up not only for myself but for the team and the little cushion Jonny had to go from there.” Lester allowed just five hits and one walk. “This guy is an ultimate competitor,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said of Lester. “He’s going to find a way to get outs.” Cubs postseason star Javy Baez made the defensive play of the game on Adrian Gonzalez’s bunt past the mound in the seventh – bare-handing and throwing in one motion to get Gonzalez by a half-step (after a replay challenge overturned a safe call). Then he added a three-run double in the eighth – coming up limping briefly after turning his ankle slightly rounding second. He stayed in the game and said afterward he was fine. “These guys won the game for us tonight,” Lester said of Russell and Baez. “I was just kind of along for the ride. “Obviously, we all know what we have in front of us with Kershaw going into Game 6,” he added. “And we’re going to do the same thing we’ve done all year: show up on Saturday and be ready to play. Hopefully, he’s not the good Kershaw, and we get kind of the mediocre guy that gives up a few runs and we’re able to hold them where they’re at.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Don’t mess with Lester — Cubs’ ace comes up big in Game 5 of NLCS By Steve Greenberg LOS ANGELES — Jon Lester gave the Dodgers exactly what they wanted to start a pivotal Game 5 of the National League Championship Series: a baserunner. After drawing a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the opening inning, leadoff hitter Kike Hernandez took a giant lead off first base and promptly began auditioning for “So You Think You Can Dance.” Hernandez didn’t take just any old leadoffs while Lester was in the process of striking out No. 2 hitter Justin Turner. We’re talking about next-level distraction tactics, full of strange gesturing and, one can only assume, animal noises.

The Dodgers did their best to mess with Lester throughout the lefty’s brilliant night, during which he allowed a single run in seven innings of the Cubs’ 8-4 victory. As is well known to all, Lester has a mental block as big as a Buick when it comes to throwing the baseball to any base other than the one with a catcher behind it. “We’re going to try to get huge leads and try to bunt on him and try to get into his psyche a little bit,” L.A. manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “So I think if we can get him a little uncomfortable, which is what we tried to do in Game 1, we’re going to do more of that.” Yo, Dodgers: How’d that strategy work out for you? The “gamesmanship” Roberts promised worked about as well as brass knuckles in a fight with a charging elephant. With two outs in the second inning, Joc Pederson bunted at Lester, who pounced on the ball, spun and — yes, on purpose — one-hopped the throw to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Then he stared into the Dodgers dugout as he slowly walked off the field, as if to say: “Bring it on. I’ll be here all night.” Messing with them right back? Nice touch, big fella. “I play this game with emotion,” Lester said afterward, “and if it rubs people the wrong way — oh, well.” Justin Turner stole the Dodgers’ first base in the third, a tactic it’s a wonder opponents don’t employ more often against Lester. But the Cubs’ ace responded with a clutch strikeout of Corey Seager on a full count. Two pitches earlier, Lester had seemed to deliver a perfect strike to end the inning, but home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez ruled it a ball. So what else was Lester going to do? As he stormed off the mound, he stared daggers at Marquez and shouted an expletive. Is it really a wise idea for opponents to try to unnerve this guy? Lester seems to have a higher gear he goes into these days when he’s ticked off. For certain, these are his finest days as a Cub and some of the very best of his career. The Cy Young award? Give it to him. The Cubs’ postseason MVP to date? Well, they are 3-0 in games he has started. How do 21 innings and two runs allowed sound? Any pitcher — ever — would take those numbers. We know opponents are going to keep trying to chip away at Lester’s composure. If the Cubs are able to win a game this weekend at Wrigley Field, then Lester’s next start will come against the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. The Indians are managed by Terry Francona, who had Lester in Boston and surely isn’t above giving an old friend a little grief. You know what? Let him. -- Chicago Sun-Times A Game 5 victory, and now the Cubs get to climb Mt. Kershaw By Rick Morrissey LOS ANGELES – One player floats over this series like a helium parade balloon, like a giant Mighty Mouse, left arm extended. Anything that happened in Game 5 Thursday night at Dodger Stadium came with the knowledge that Clayton Kershaw would be pitching Game 6 Saturday at Wrigley Field.

And, assuming, for a moment, a Kershaw victory, it also came with the thought that Game 7 of the National League Championship Series would then be played at a very uptight Wrigley. So here’s Kershaw, the man with the best chance to affect the NLCS, both physically and emotionally. The Cubs are going to have to run through a wall to win this. They beat up the Dodgers 8-4 Thursday, giving them a 3-2 lead in the series. It was a game they were supposed to win. They sent ace Jon Lester to the mound, the Dodgers answered with humdrum postseason pitcher Kenta Maeda and when could everyone get back to Wrigley for Game 6 and the monumental task of trying to beat Kershaw, of trying to get to the team’s first World Series since 1945? Lester was great, giving up just five hits and one run in seven innings. Great, fine, wonderful. Now let the real drama begin. Kershaw was excellent in the Dodgers’ Game 2 victory, and as the series progressed, the only question was whether he would pitch in Game 5 or Game 6. A Game 5 start would have meant less rest for him, a better chance to bring a series lead for the Dodgers back to Wrigley and the possibility of a Game 7 appearance. A Game 6 start means one more day of rest and the chance to make the Cubs go to Game 7 with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with Door No. 6. I would have started Kershaw in Game 5, presuming a victory that would have put all sorts of pressure on the Cubs. If there’s a right answer on this, we might not know it until the series is over and the history writing begins. But Kershaw was going to loom either way. He looms like nobody else looms. “At this time of the year, if you wanted to get to your ultimate goal, you have to beat people like that,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “You have to. Normally this time of the year, the opposition’s going to field some really good pitching, both starting and relieving. The line’s always been for me, you’ve got to pitch better than good pitching to win.’’ The Cubs will have two things going for them Saturday: Kyle Hendricks, the pitcher with the lowest earned-run average in baseball during the regular season, and the body of Kershaw’s postseason work, which hasn’t been stellar until this year. “Hopefully, he’s not the good Kershaw, and we get kind of the mediocre guy that gives up a few runs,” Lester said. The Cubs have one thing going against them: Kershaw is the best pitcher of his generation, a three-time Cy Young winner who would have been in the running for another this season if he hadn’t missed significant time with a back injury. Reports have it that the Cubs are going to show up anyway Saturday. Game 5 was there to get everyone to Game 6, to Kershaw and Hendricks. To Wrigley and Cubs fans. “The fans are pretty excited about their team this year, and rightfully so,’’ Kershaw said. “They’ve been waiting a long time for them to win. … Pitching on the road is obviously different, but you try and keep it the same as possible. D.C. (during the division series) was one of the louder environments that I’ve pitched in. So I’ve gotten to do that now a few times. I guess I’m as prepared as I’ll ever be for that.’’ Let’s see if the Cubs are. --

Chicago Sun-Times Here comes Game 6 at Wrigley in NLCS, both a thrill and a terror By Rick Telander LOS ANGELES — Let’s get it out in the open, because it’s not like nobody is going to remember. Saturday’s game at Wrigley Field will be Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. We’ve been here before, 13 years ago, in utter bafflement, sadness and fear. That NLCS Game 6 will forever be remembered as “The Bartman Game,” not because hapless fan Steve Bartman reached for a ball in play — which should have had no effect on pitcher Mark Prior and his pals — but simply because he’s a symbol of the moment when it all went into the toilet for the Cubs. Five outs away from the World Series. You know the rest. So here come the Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers to play out the roles of the 2003 Cubs and Florida Marlins, who went on to win the World Series. The Cubs lead three games to two, just as they did back then. All they have to do is win one game. Cubs Nation waits feverishly for that victory, which will propel this team into the World Series for the first time since 1945. Should be easy. But the specter of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, the ace of aces, starting that game has to bring pause. Maybe it’s wrong to even think of past references. But it’s not wrong to be prepared for tough times, to know that a loss, thus forcing a Game 7, would be reminiscent of the Kerry Wood Game 7 back in the day — another mind-scrambling, hideous loss. The Cubs have scored 18 runs in their last two wins over the Dodgers. Their bat impotence seems to have been cured, except for unlucky Ben Zobrist (who nevertheless walked three times in Game 5) and guaranteed out Jason Heyward. So they should be feeling good about their prospects. The Cleveland Indians have already snagged the American League spot in the World Series, and the prospect of two teams who, combined, have gone 176 years without a World Series crown has to appeal to the common man everywhere, as well as anybody in the Midwest. “Snakebit” doesn’t begin to describe these two teams. “Eaten by pythons” does. One of them will rejoice so long and hard after the World Series that the celebration might last for months, or years, or decades. Excuse me. I am way ahead of matters here. Let’s drop back to Game 6 on Saturday night. If there isn’t nervous energy in the air at Wrigley — mixed with a subdued yet undeniable dread — then these aren’t the Cubs, and you haven’t been a fan for long. Starter Kyle Hendricks might have the game of his life. He’s an excellent pitcher, with near Greg Maddux-like control. He had a remarkable 2.13 ERA in the regular season, and he’s at 1.69 in the postseason. “I’m looking forward to it,” Hendricks said of facing Kershaw. “It’s obviously going to be fun.” Fun?

Before Game 5, former Dodgers Eric Karros and Steve Garvey threw out a pair of first pitches in the twilight heat. Sure, those two are Dodgers for life. But Karros was once a Cub. And Garvey was once a Cub-killer. Back in 2003, Karros played one season for the Cubs and was most notable for filming everything on his small camera, perhaps for that World Series joy story that never happened. He was good during the season and the first round of the playoffs but stunk in the NLCS. Like his teammates. All Garvey did, way back in 1984, when he was with the San Diego Padres, was destroy the Cubs in the NLCS, the series they had all but won, batting .400 and winning the MVP award. Nice touch, Dodgers! Thanks for the memories! Saturday cometh. -- Chicago Sun-Times Optics illusion? Lackey growls, young Cubs shrug it off, win 2 By Gordon Wittenmyer LOS ANGELES – The optics couldn’t have been worse. But it’s actually an optics illusion, the Cubs say when it comes to the impact of veteran pitcher John Lackey’s wrathful emotions on young teammates and his relationship with his manager. Even when they manifest on the national stage of the baseball playoffs in the form of snapping on second baseman Javy Baez and rookie catcher Willson Contreras after mistakes in the field Wednesday night. And it didn’t take an expert lip reader to see Lackey saying “you gotta be f— kidding me,” when manager Joe Maddon went to pull him from his start two batters into the fifth inning. “John gets angry, and it shouldn’t surprise anybody,” said Maddon, who actually took a more circuitous rout to the mound than normal to get Lackey that night. “I took a deep breath. “You have to understand I’m dealing with some really, highly charged personalities here. Guys that have been there, done that. And they’re good, and they’re very proud men.” Maddon said before Thursday’s game he hadn’t talked with Lackey since those charged moments that lingered in thinly veiled anger into the clubhouse afterward. But the manager seemed to expect he would. The bigger issue would seem to be the impact on young teammates. But as Maddon alluded, it’s nothing new. “Once I got here I realized how Lackey acts. That doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve just got to deal with it,” Contreras said. “I don’t care if he showed me up or not. I’m not trying to make a [catcher’s] interference. I’m just trying to play the game as hard as I can. He knows that I’ll be there to do my best for him. “He’s just a gamer, and everybody knows that. He wants to win,” Contreras added. “Especially in games like this, we can’t make those mistakes. But we did. We’re human beings.” “It’s John,” Maddon said. “He vibrates on that frequency. You know that. He’s an edgy human being. He’s an edgy baseball player. If you’re surprised by it, that’s your fault.” As for the kids, “they handle it really well actually,” Maddon said. “I don’t think they cower to any of that.” Edwards escapes injury

Right-hander Carl Edwards Jr., who left Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning because of a tight hamstring, was diagnosed with nothing more than a cramp and was considered available Thursday. “He feels really good [Thursday],” Maddon said. “From a medical side, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s fine.” Notes: Kris Bryant (10) and Dexter Fowler (eight) rank 1-2 in career postseason extra-base hits in Cubs history. No. 10 for Bryant was a one-out double in Thursday’s fifth inning. … With his third-inning single, Justin Turner has reached base in 15 consecutive postseason games, a Dodgers franchise record. … Baez turned his ankle slightly rounding second on his bases-clearing double in the eighth inning but stayed in the game and said afterward he was fine. -- Chicago Sun-Times Szczur, off Cubs roster, still making impact near, far By Daryl Van Schouwen LOS ANGELES — Valued pinch-hitter Matt Szczur wasn’t much use to the Cubs during the National League Division Series. Left off the roster – a mild surprise to some – the Cubs made do without him by keeping Albert Almora instead. In the NLCS, Szczur became an afterthought to Cubs fans when he was left out once again. Until Wednesday in Game 5, that is. That’s when Anthony Rizzo used Szczur’s bat and broke out of a slump by hitting a home run and two singles in a 10-2 Cubs victory which evened the series. After the game, Szczur was a media darling in the Cubs clubhouse. “He’s done that a few times, grabbed my bat,” Szczur said. “It’s the same weight and size, just a different model. So he just grabbed one. “Tony doesn’t owe me anything. He’s picked me up at dinner quite a few times.’’ On the other side of the world, far away in the Ukraine, Szczur will be a hero each and every day to Anastasia Olkhovsky, a young girl who owes her life to the 27-year-old Cub — whether he’s hitting a pinch homer for the Cubs, lending a bat to a teammate or sitting on the sidelines. Szczer, while a two-sport star athlete at Villanova signed up to be a bone marrow donor for her. Shortly after he led Villanova’s football team to a FCS national championship in the fall of 2009, Sczer got a call from the National Donor registry informing him he was a match. The following spring, because of Anastasia’s deteriorating condition, Szczur interrupted his baseball season – a crucial one for him in advance of the major league draft – to do the procedure. Diagnosed with leukemia at three months, Anastasia, received Szczur’s marrow at age 3 has made a recovery. The leukemia is in remission. ESPN’s moving E60 feature on her story and Szczur’s part in it aired a second time Wednesday. Rizzo, a cancer survivor, pointed to Szczer after his homer Wednesday and said after the game he was inspired by the E60 piece. Szczur said he spoke to her via skype about a week ago. “She’s doing well,’’ he said. A footnote: Because of a shortage, more young males are needed to donate bone marrow. Transplant doctors request younger donors more than 95 percent of the time and, on average, men have more body mass than women and more marrow. Be The Match, which help patients get the life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant they need, say Szczer has raised much-needed awareness.

For more information about marrow donation or to join the registry,visit BeTheMatch.org. --