The impossible becomes possible when your back is against the wall.
For the second consecutive postseason series, the Los Angeles Dodgers face another daunting impossible task as they leave the confines of Chavez Ravine facing elimination in a hostile environment.
Addison Russell homered for the second straight game and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Dodgers, 8-4, in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the NLCS as the series shifts back to Chicago.
.@Addison_Russell, out.
Watch on @FS1: https://t.co/4o8W3XgGFN #NLCS pres. by @TMobile pic.twitter.com/5vDYpvLMc9 — MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2016
Russell homered in back-to-back games when he took relief pitcher Joe Blanton deep in the top of the sixth inning. The two-run blast put the Cubs in front and they only piled on from there, scoring five more runs in the eighth inning.
"I was looking for something up in the zone and he threw me a slider that was elevated and I put the barrel on it," Russell said of his game-changing home run. "It was pretty exciting. I was pumped up. Not only for myself, but for the team."
Blanton has now been burned twice in the NLCS as he allowed a grand slam to Miguel Montero followed by a solo shot from Dexter Fowler in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field.
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"That's been my go to pitch for the past year and a half," Blanton said of his slider that has turned into three homers and seven runs for the Cubs this series. "To hang it twice and get beat on it twice, hurts. It's all over the place right now."
The right-hander entered the game in relief after starter Kenta Maeda left the game with two runners on in the fourth inning.
Maeda struggled out of the gate, surrendering a leadoff single to Fowler and an RBI double down the right field line to Anthony Rizzo. Maeda was able to minimize the damage by striking the next two batters out to end the inning.
"In the first inning they got some hits off me and the pitch count went up, but after that I was able to settle in," Maeda said. "I was focused all game, but unfortunately it didn't work out."
The Japanese right-hander settled in for the next two frames, before running into trouble again in the fourth. Maeda did not factor in the decision, and allowed one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 3 and 2/3 innings.
"I was a little surprised, but my job as a starter is to go deep in the game and I couldn't do that," he said. "As a result, it put a lot of stress on the entire team."
All season long, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has gone to the bullpen early and often, making the most pitching changes in MLB history. During the regular season, the moves paid off as the Dodgers won the NL West Division and defeated the Nationals in the NLDS with their relievers pitching more innings than their starters.
"I'm going to the pen a lot. I am," Roberts said after the game. "There are certain times where I feel like the game might be in the balance and I've got to make a decision. So it doesn't always work."
However, in the NLCS, the pitching changes have backfired as the bullpen has struggled outside of Kenley Jansen all series long. The bullpen has allowed 18 runs over the course of the five games in the NLCS and cost the Dodgers a pivotal game on Thursday night.
"It's been a battle for the bullpen," continued Roberts. "These are the guys we have, and these are the guys that got us here. I'm not going to shy away from any of these guys, they've gotten big outs for us all year long."
Chicago tacked on five runs in an atrocious eighth inning that saw the Dodgers commit an error and multiple mental mistakes.
Russell reached base to start the inning after Pedro Baez bobbled a throw to first from Adrian Gonzalez on a slow roller up the line. A single moved the batter over and Fowler brought him home when Gonzalez hesitated on a ground ball.
"Petey [Baez] got in there and and there was some soft contact and the game got away," Roberts said of the eighth inning. "Overall, I just felt that we got beat tonight."
A broken-bat bleeder to third base scored the second run of the inning and the floodgates opened from there as Baez walked the bases loaded before Roberts finally came and got him in favor of Ross Stripling.
Stripling immediately served up a bases-clearing double to Baez and the Cubs took a commanding 8-1 lead.
"I left balls right down the middle sitting on a tee," Stripling said of the at-bat with Baez. "We're not executing pitches the way we were earlier in the year and we have to go back to that."
Jon Lester was marvelous for the second time in the series as he allowed just one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven superior innings for Chicago.
Lester's only mistake, was a one-out double to Howie Kendrick in the fourth inning. Kendrick stole third and went on to score the tying run on a groundout to first base by Gonzalez.
"People have been doing that all year," Lester said of the bunts and base stealing. "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 improved to a perfect 3-0 in Game 5 starts in his postseason career and has an ERA of 1.80 in those decisive games. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Lester is the only pitcher in MLB history to go 3-0 in Game 5 starts when a series is tied 2-2.
"We've been doing this all year," Lester said of the team's success in his starts and overall. "Addison and Javier won the game for us tonight. I was just kind of along for the ride."
The Dodgers got a run in the eighth on a RBI double by Carlos Ruiz and two in the bottom of the ninth off Cubs' closer Aroldis Chapman. Neverthless, Chicago was never in any danger and are now in the driver's seat to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945.
Chicago leads the best-of-seven series, 3-2, as the series shifts back to Wrigley Field for Game 6 on Saturday.
"It's win or go home," said Dodgers shorstop Corey Seager. "It's just like last series and we have to be ready to play. We're looking forward to battling on Saturday."
Vin Scully was among the 54,449 in attendance at Dodger Stadium as the sellout crowd watched in stunned silence as the Cubs manhandled the Dodgers bullpen for the second straight night.
"It's frustrating," added first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. "We had a chance to keep this game close and we didn't. We have to do a better job of making outs."
Meanwhile, the odds of the Dodgers reaching their first World Series since 1988 are signficantly against them as the winner of Game 5 in a best-of-seven series goes on to win that series 70 percent of the time.
Players of the Game:
Addison Russell: Game-winning two-run home run.
Javier Baez: 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored.
Jon Lester: One run over seven innings.
Three Takeaways:
1. One Win From World Series: Since 2003, National League teams that have taken a 3-2 series lead in the NLCS and hosted the final two games at home are a perfect 7-0. However, the last team to blow that lead was the Cubs in 2003.
No NL team that has taken a 3-2 lead in the NLCS and gone home for the final two games has lost the series since 2003. — Bob Timmermann (@bobtimmermann) October 21, 2016
2. Elite Company: Addison Russell (22) joined Corey Seager as the youngest shortstops in MLB postseason history to home in consecutive games. Seager (22) is the youngest after homering in Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS in Washington D.C.
Addison Russell (22) is the 2nd-youngest shortstop in postseason history to homer in consecutive games. The only one younger is Corey Seager — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 21, 2016
3. He Stands Alone: Justin Turner set the all-time Dodgers postseason franchise mark by reaching base in 15 consecutive playoff games.
Two-out single for @redturn2 and he has broken the #Dodgers all-time on-base streak with 15 straight postseason games! #LALovesOctober — Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) October 21, 2016
Up Next:
Cubs (3-2): Kyle Hendricks heads back to the mound with a chance to clinch as the series returns to Wrigley Field for Game 6 on Saturday night.
Dodgers (2-3): Clayton Kershaw will look to save the season for Los Angeles in an elimination game scheduled for 5:08PM PST at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday.
