Cubs beat Cardinals 6-4 to advance to National League Championship Series

Cubs closer Hector Rondon struck out Stephen Piscotty on a pitch in the dirt, and catcher Miguel Montero scooped the ball and made the tag to end the game. And hundreds of fans remained standing behind the Cubs’ dugout, whooping and hollering at every player who passed by.

Asked who will be the next hero for the Cubs, Maddon said during the victory celebration: “Stay tuned, man. They’ve all been playing, they are all part of the ownership group here. It has been a long time coming for this city and hopefully it’s just a taste of what’s about to come”, Rizzo said. The source said the Cubs will decide what to do with the ball after the season, but wanted to leave it there for now as a momento of the Game 4 win. They will face either the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers in their first NLCS appearance since 2003.

Cruz’s clutch double got St. Louis within one in the sixth, but he was cut down at home by outfielder Jorge Soler when he tried to score on Brandon Moss’ tying RBI single.

Cubs’ rookie Kyle Schwarber has been likened to a cross between Babe Ruth and Phillies’ slugger John Kruk for his build and prodigious home run power. After being removed by Cubs officials to verify the baseball was hit by Schwarber, it was returned to the top of the scoreboard for the duration of the MLB Playoffs.

The Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo (44) hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning of Game 4 in baseball’s National League Division Series, Tuesday, October 13, 2015, in Chicago. They will move on to the National League championship series. Hammel, the starting pitcher, lasted just three innings, but singled in a run. These were the two runs that Hammel gave up in his three innings of work as he allowed three hits while walking three and striking out two.

The schedule: The start time for Saturday’s Game 1 hasn’t been announced. He also poured champagne down his dad’s throat after the Cubs won the NL wild-card game.

St. Louis, which led the majors with 100 wins this season, trails 2-1 in the best-of-five series.

Daniel Murphy homered to right field in the fourth, but the Mets were unable to add to that. The reigning NL MVP and Cy Young Award victor was 1-6 with a 4.99 ERA for his postseason career entering this start.

In winning the last two games of the series in front of jubilant home fans at Wrigley Field, the Cubs blasted a total of nine homers while they used seven relievers on Tuesday to keep the Cardinals pegged back.