Cardinal fans lament loss to the Cubs in NLDS

“I’ve never seen anything like 21- and 22-, 23-year-olds dropping bombs like they are right now”, Epstein said. “Hopefully, this is just a taste of what is to come”.

Will this be the year the Cubs curse is broken?

The Cubs are headed to the N.L. Championship Series for the first time since 2003. The Cubs were defeated in seven games by the then Florida Marlins.

Matheny chose to go with Lackey on short rest with St. Louis facing elimination, and it looked like a smart decision when the right-hander struck out his final two batters in a flawless first.

Following the Chicago Cubs’ 3-1 NLDS series win vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, what five takeaways can be had for them moving ahead in the 2015 Major League Baseball Playoffs?

There’s no denying that the Cubs are arguably the hottest team in baseball right now and that’s what the playoffs are all about; getting hot at the right time.

The Cardinals had reached the NLCS in the last four years.

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.

As if the fans were roaring at the top of their lungs after that home run, they were really screaming after Schwarber’s monstrous shot leading off the seventh.

75 – Percent of runs in the NLDS scored via the home run ball.

Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Starlin Castro Dexter Fowler and rookie of the year candidate Kris Bryant also drove in runs via the long ball for Chicago in the series.

The Cubs will have to settle on a rotation for the seven-game NLCS, which opens on the road since wild-card entry Chicago is the lowest remaining seed.

“I remember we lost a couple of games in a row, so you start reading your Twitter from the fans, and they’re like, ‘Oh, here it comes again, ‘” Montero said, adding later, “If we don’t believe that we are good, we’re not going to have a chance”.

Remember, kids: when you can strike batters out, they can’t put the ball in play.

The Cubs will face the victor of the Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Mets matchup. If the Cardinals had forced a Game 5 for Thursday, Russell would have been unlikely to start, manager Joe Maddon said…. Today’s winners will meet in Game One of the American League Championship Series on Friday. “I knew adrenaline would take over”, Kershaw said. “They like us a little better there”. Hammel allowed two runs on three hits, walked three and strike out two. All four of those runs came off Lackey, who threw three innings and let up those four runs on four hits while walking one and striking out five. It’s the third-highest percentage by a team that won a postseason series, trailing the 1998 Yankees in the ALDS (78% of runs) and 2003 Red Sox in the ALDS (77%), according to Elias.