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UPDATE: Cubs win! Cubs Win!
Wrigley Field opened its doors in 1914, with the Cubs first playing there in 1916 when it was still called Weeghman Park. That means we’re just shy of 100 years of Cubs’ baseball at Wrigley, and yet, they have not won a single playoff series in that park. That can all change on Tuesday in Game 4 of the NLDS, when Jason Hammel and the Cubs take on John Lackey and the Cardinals in Chicago, with the Cubs up two games to one after Monday’s victory.
It’s hard to believe at first that the Cubs have never clinched a playoff series at Wrigley, but here we are. The only series that existed in the MLB playoffs until 1969 was the World Series -- the Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, before ground had even broken on Wrigley, and haven’t even been to a World Series since 1945. They lost the NLCS in 1984 and 1989, and lost in their first League Division Series in 1998. The 2003 season actually represented the only playoff series -- not just World Series -- that the Cubs haven’t lost since 1908, but that victory against the Braves took five games, with the clinching contest coming at Turner Field in Atlanta. And the past tense of “represent” only works there if you want to call 2015’s Wild Card Game victory over the Pirates a “series” win.
Now is the time to do change all that. They’re facing their greatest rivals. It’s the first time the Cubs have had a chance to clinch at Wrigley since 2003, when they dropped both Game 6 and Game 7 to the Marlins in Chicago. It’s only the third time in Wrigley’s 99 years of Cubs’ history that they have even had an opportunity to clinch a postseason series there -- the other was the ‘45 World Series, in which the Cubs won Game 6, but lost the deciding matchup.
Not all of the Cubs’ awful past can be erased with a series win here, but it would certainly be a start. Plus, avoiding the Cardinals in a must-win game seems like something every team should do, not just one with the history the Cubs have.
- The Cubs aren't the only ones with a chance to clinch on Tuesday, as the Mets defeated the Dodgers 13-7 in Game 3 at Citi Field. Like the Cubs, the Mets have a chance to win their first-ever playoff series in their home park. They've only been waiting six years for that, though.
- The Blue Jays avoided elimination by downing the Rangers, in a game that featured a hefty dose of David Price in relief. That means it's Marcus Stroman in Game 5, once the two teams get back to Toronto for Wednesday.
- The Royals also avoided having their season ended, even though it looked like a sure thing there for a bit. In fact, Kansas City had about a three percent chance of winning, but thanks to a huge inning and an error, they won anyway.
- Yadier Molina exited Game 3 early, and it's fair to wonder if he's going to be back in 2015.
- Hank Conger performs the robot dance from Chappelle's Show after Astros' homers.
- Matt Harvey, human metaphor, started Game 3 for the Mets after Game 2's emotional loss. It wasn't the lengthiest outing of his career, but he got the job done.
- Pete Rose forgot how to use words while laughing on the FOX Sports 1 pregame show.
- Ruben Tejada, who suffered a broken leg at the feet of Chase Utley, rode his replacement around like a small horse.
- Speaking of Utley, Mets fans wanted him in the game, but mostly so they could drown out all other sounds with boos once again.
- On a record night for playoff homers, no one destroyed a single baseball more than Yoenis Cespedes.
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SB Nation presents: Why the Astros are the most exciting playoff team
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