Cubs finally headed to World Series

Chicago — The curse is finally over. No more “wait ‘til next year” for the Chicago Cubs.

            Removing the suspense early to avoid a seventh game that neither the team nor its long-suffering fans wanted, the Cubs scored three quick runs off Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and rolled to a 5–0 victory Saturday night in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at rockin’ Wrigley Field.

            The Cubs are headed for their first World Series since 1945, a month and a half after World War II ended. They will face the Cleveland Indians, who won the World Series three years later in 1948 but have no titles since.

            Chicago’s overall futility goes back another 40 years to 1908, when they last won the big trophy. So, something has to give this time.

BOX SCORE: Cubs 5, Dodgers 0

            Immediately after pinch-hitter Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play to end the game, the white “W” flag was raised above the hand-operated Wrigley Field scoreboard, a sight Cubs fans wondered if they’d live long enough to see.

            After donning NL championship gear, the Chicago players gathered in front of the mound to pose for photographers with their own “W” flag.

            In addressing the crowd during the postgame ceremony on the field, Cubs manager Joe Maddon exclaimed, “My first thought is we didn’t suck!”

            That was a reference to the first of many slogans Maddon introduced since taking over as manager two years ago to try to keep his players loose and having fun: “Try not to suck.”

            Jon Lester, who pitched brilliantly in Chicago victories in Games 1 and 5, was named co-most valuable player with second baseman Javier Baez, who emerged as a star of the future on the NLCS stage.            

            “It’s been unbelievable to play here and be part of this,” Lester said. “Words can’t explain it. We’ve got another step to go.”

            Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant echoed that sentiment, saying, “This was an unbelievable win, for the team, the city and the fans. This is the coolest feeling I’ve had, but we’re not done. We want a different trophy.”

            Conventional wisdom entering the evening had Kershaw forcing a decisive seventh game, but it was Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks who did the dealing. The NL earned run average leader allowed a single to Andrew Toles to open the game and didn’t surrender another hit until Josh Reddick singled with one down in the eighth.

            Over the first seven innings, Hendricks faced the minimum 21 hitters. He was in such command that when Maddon walked out to remove him after Reddick’s hit, Cubs fans booed loudly. But closer Aroldis Chapman recorded the final five outs and the party began.

            When the Cubs were shut out in Games 2 and 3 to allow Los Angeles to go up, two games to one, there was much angst about what was wrong with their offense. They silenced those doubters by winning the next three games behind an attack that generated 23 runs to only six for the Dodgers.

            It took only two batters for the Cubs to do something they couldn’t do in Game 2 against Kershaw — score a run. Dexter Fowler punched a ground-rule double down the right-field line and Bryant also went the other way with a RBI single to right.

            Anthony Rizzo sent a slicing drive into the gap in left-center that leftfielder Toles tracked down, only to have it clank off his glove for a two-base error. Bryant moved up to third base and scored on Ben Zobrist’s sacrifice fly to center, giving the Cubs a quick 2-0 lead.

            Before Kershaw escaped the first, he had thrown 30 pitches and the die was cast for a short five-inning outing. The Cubs stayed after the three-time Cy Young Award winner, scoring again in the second inning when Addison Russell led off with a double and scored on Fowler’s two-out single.

            In his Game 2 masterpiece, Kershaw put down the first 14 hitters of the game and allowed only two singles through seven innings. Through the first three innings of the rematch, the Cubs had eight total bases, including three doubles and made Kershaw throw 62 pitches.

            Kershaw couldn’t get his curveball over in Game 2 but got away with throwing fastballs and sliders with command. The curve was missing again — Kershaw threw eight over the first three innings but none were strikes — and this time the Cubs took advantage.

            Willson Contreras belted a slider for a home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning and Rizzo ripped a fastball out to right for a homer with two down in the fifth. Staked to the five-run lead, Hendricks mowed through the Dodgers batting order, retiring 17 in a row before Reddick’s hit.

            With rookie Albert Almora Jr. replacing slump-ridden Jason Heyward in right field and another rookie, Contreras, catching, the Cubs sent a young lineup against Kershaw, including five players age 24 or younger. It’s scary how good the Cubs are with so many young players, setting them up to be good for years.

            “The youth — you look from Baez to Contreras, Russell to Almora — that could be somebody’s Triple-A team there, just based on experience and age,” Maddon said. “I’m very proud of the fact that they’re as good as they are.

            “It’s a testament to scouting and development as well as the person, the motor, the heart, the mind of all these kids. You have to have a lot of confidence and faith in the group, and we do.”